Two Sides of the Same Coin
by DancerInTheDark101
Summary: Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?
1. Prologue

**WARNING: Spoilers for the Season 2 finale! Read at your own risk. Starts immediately after the episode finished. **

Here is a little taste of the new fic I have in the development stages. I want to do a Season 3 fic and this is what I wrote after I finished watching the finale of Season 2. I've thrown a few ideas in to give you a taste of what could come, but I'd really like to know whether it's worth continuing or not.

Also, this is my 30TH fic on Fanfiction! I was going to wait and post the sequel to my Supernatural fic as my 30TH, but couldn't be bothered waiting lol.

So please have a read and let me know if you enjoyed it or not. THANKS!

I will also be looking for a BETA for this story if I continue it, so if you would be interested let me know! :D

* * *

**TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?_

* * *

-FALLING SKIES SEASON 3-

Prologue

Tom stared into the black, soulless eyes of the alien standing before them. The rain continued to pour down, battering their bodies with continuous pellets of the cold water. He held his weapon tightly, pointing it at the alien. He could feel the tension radiating off those around him, all of them wondering the same thing.

What the hell was it? And why had it arrived now?

Shifting his position slightly, Tom continued to stare at the alien. It was covered in heavy-duty armour, the strange bat-like things sticking up from its back making it a very formidable looking adversary.

It was a stale-mate. The alien wasn't moving. It was just staring at them with those small, beady eyes. And as long as the alien made no movement, those gathered weren't going to move either. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Tom caught Weaver's gaze.

Tom nodded slightly as he saw the look in the captain's eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, only to freeze as the alien's eyes narrowed dangerously. Seconds later, the alien's hand shot out and a vibrant blue and white light shot from a contraption on its wrist, hurtling straight towards them.

"No-" he started to yell out, attempt to dissuade the alien from whatever it was doing. It was futile. The bolt of energy raced towards them. It passed right by Tom and while Tom tried to comprehend what had just happened, a heart-wrenching scream ripped through the stormy sky.

Ben.

Tom whipped around, only to stop short, his mouth dropping open in horror.

The bolt of lightning type energy had wrapped around Ben like a rope; starting at the base of his neck and curling around his body tightly until it stopped just below his hips. The vibrant blue rope pulsated with energy, white sparks shooting through the length of it like lightning.

Ben screamed again, his voice hitching at the end. His eyes were screwed shut in pain as the electricity raced through his system. He'd dropped his gun and it was now lying on the ground, useless. Ben's chest was heaving as another bolt shot through him. His eyes opened wide and he gasped for breath as the pain seemed to abate a little.

Turning away from seeing his son in agony, Tom glared at the alien.

"Stop it!" he yelled over the thunder booming and Ben's screams. "Let him go!"

His words did nothing. The alien ignored him. Tom could only watch on in terror as the alien held out its hand and another lightning rope appeared, shooting straight for the incapacitated Ben. The rope latched on to his son's writhing body before the alien yanked his hand back and the crackling rope started to shorten, dragging his son towards the red-skinned alien.

Ben was on the verge of unconsciousness. His head fell forward, lolling to the sides before his chin came to rest onto the right side of his collar bone. His eyes were closed and it was only seconds before his legs buckled and he hit the ground.

"BEN!"

The alien continued to drag the unconscious teen towards itself, paying no heed to the multitude of guns now trained on it.

"Let… Him… Go…" Tom grit out as his finger tightened on the trigger of his gun.

_He is the enemy. He must die. _

Tom flinched at the voice inside his head. What the hell? He looked around at everyone else gathered to see if any of them had heard anything.

"What the hell do you want!?" he called out, eyes darting to the inert form of his son lying on the wet ground.

_He is the enemy. He must die. _

"What the?" Weaver muttered. Tom looked to the captain and saw the normally stoic man's eyes widening. "Did anyone else hear that?" Several other murmurs of agreement spread through the crowd. So this new breed of alien could communicate through their minds? Was this what it had been like with Ben and the Skitters?

"Who is the enemy? Who must die?" Tom asked even though in the back of his mind he knew exactly what the answer would be.

_He is the enemy and he MUST die. _The alien lifted a finger and pointed to the unconscious Ben.

"My son is not the enemy!"

_He possesses the harness. He is the enemy. _

It hit him like a ton of bricks. Tom gasped as he realised. This alien was the enemy of the Skitters… They were the enemy of the plague that had decimated their world.

The old saying came to mind… The enemy of our enemy is our friend…

Did that make this alien their ally?

Staring at his unconscious son lying on the ground near the alien's feet, Tom didn't know what to think.

* * *

Okay, so what do you guys think? Do you like how I've portrayed the alien so far?

It's short… but it's just a prologue, so please let me know if you'd like me to continue! I have a few ideas as to where to go with this, but they will need to be developed a little more before continuing.

Thanks for reading. I hope all you enjoyed the little snippet!

Please review.


	2. This Isn't Over

DISCLAIMER: Falling Skies belongs to TNT, Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg.

**Emotional Dalek - **a huge thanks for beta-ing this for me! *hugs* You're a legend :)

This chapter has a few things that are prelude to other events that will take place further along in the chapter. One is very well hidden, the other not so much. Let's see if you can guess them :P

Also, you may have noticed I added a new cover for this story. Do you like?

Enough from me - enjoy the latest chapter!

* * *

**TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN**

**DancerInTheDark101**

* * *

_Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?_

* * *

-FALLING SKIES SEASON 3-

Chapter 1 – This Isn't Over

_Tom didn't know what to think as he stared at his unconscious son lying on the ground near the alien's feet._

Hearing the sound of a weapon being checked, Tom tore his gaze away from his unconscious son to that of the rest of the Second Mass gathered around. They were all still standing very still, their gazes trained on the new alien standing above Ben. Weaver,however, had his eyes on his weapon as he checked the mag before clipping it back into place.

The captain locked eyes with him when he looked back up. "What do you want to do, Tom?" he asked, his voice lowered.

"I have to get Ben away from it."

Said boy was still lying at the alien's feet, the strange electrical rope wrapped tightly around his torso. The rope itself was glowing with a blue and white light, but there didn't seem to be any sparks zipping around the cord.

Several of the soldiers behind them shuffled in the torrential rain. Tom wiped a hand across his face as several large drops fell from his saturated hair and into his eyes. They were all going to get sick if they stayed out here much longer.

But they couldn't leave. The red-skinned alien was standing very still before them, gazing around with its souless eyes. Tom braced himself and quickly whipped up his weapon into a firing position as the alien lifted a hand.

"Oh, for fuck sake! Just shoot the fucker!" a loud, obnoxious voice called out from behind them. Tom grimaced as he recognized the tone. It was Pope. At Pope's exclamation, the alien stiffened and turned its head so fast Tom swore he heard something crack. The alien glared in Pope's general direction before returning its attention to the device on its wrist.

"Make no sudden movements, or we ___will_open fire!" Weaver shouted over the increasing rain. The alien paid no attention to the captain's words. It pressed what looked like a button on the device on its wrist. There was a sudden crack and the pulsing rope wrapped around Ben lost all colour and started unwinding. It slid over the damp ground and coiled back into the device on the alien's wrist, which it had still been attached to.

Frowning at the sudden turn of events, Tom shifted his grip on the gun in his hands and waited to see what was going to happen next. He blinked as more rain water slid from his hair and into his eyes and Tom fought the urge to take one hand off his weapon and wipe away the annoyance.

As they watched on, the alien moved. It bent down and leant over the unconscious Ben. Tom felt his heart jump into his throat and didn't realise he had started to move forward until a hand gripped his upper arm to halt his movement.

It was Anne. She shook her head slowly, indicating that she didn't think it was a good idea for him to confront the new alien. Tom took in a shuddering breath as he weighed his options. Every fibre of his being wanted to shoot the alien and grab his son, but there would be no telling what would happen if he did.

So far, the red-skinned alien had done nothing to harm them in any way, having only attacked Ben, and Tom had a theory as to why that had happened. It didn't make it any easier though. Ben was his son; he was part of the Second Mass too. His son was still human, despite what several others had said about him.

"Tom…" Weaver muttered as Tom inched forward. "I know you want to get Ben out of there, but do you have a plan? Because I sure as hell don't."

Tom didn't answer. Weaver was right. They had to have a plan. Rushing in and being reckless would just get them all killed, and it definitely wouldn't be doing Ben any favours.

"What the hell is it doing?" The father of three gasped as the alien grabbed his son's chin and yanked his head upwards. They stayed in that position for several moments, before his son was dropped unmercifully back to the ground, his head smacking painfully against the concrete.

_"__I will spare the Harnessed One… for now.__" _Harnessed One? Tom was worried. It was obviously talking about Ben. But what did it mean 'for now'? Tom's mind was a mess. His emotions were all over the place; with Hal and Ben unconscious and the recently discovered knowledge that he was going to be a father again, he could barely think straight.

The father of three gaped as the alien turned around, its back now facing them. No one seemed to be able to move as they all watched the alien step back into the pod. The door closed shut with a hiss and the vibrant light that had been filtering from the small space inside the pod vanished. Several blue lights lit up on the outside of the pod and moments later, the sound of some kind of propulsion system could be heard firing up.

The pod – with the red-skinned alien inside – shot off into the sky, leaving the Second Mass in complete darkness and confused as hell.

They stood there for several seconds in shock, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Tom felt Anne's hand slip from his arm and in seconds he had dropped his gun and was racing over to where Ben lay.

"Ben!" He grabbed his son's chin, eerily similar to how the alien had done only moments before. "Ben!" he called, shaking his teenage son in an attempt to wake him. When there was no response, Tom snuck one arm underneath his shoulders and the other under his knees and lifted Ben off the ground. Ben's head lolled to the side, his eyes still closed and mouth slack.

"Let's get him inside, out of the rain and I'll take a look at him," Anne spoke. Grateful that someone else had decided on a course of action, Tom nodded in confirmation.

Pulling Ben closer, Tom followed Weaver, Anne and the others back into the new Charleston.

"Dad!" It was Matt. Tom faltered, glancing quickly at Ben's pale face before turning to see Matt racing towards them. His youngest son stopped short when he saw his brother lying unconscious in his father's arms.

"W-what happened?" he stammered. "Why's Ben unconscious? Is he okay? What happened!?" he repeated, his breathing starting to speed up.

"I'll explain in a minute, okay Matt? I've just gotta get your brother to Dr. Glass so that she can take a look at him."

"B-but…"

Tom cut his youngest son off. "I'm sorry Matt. As soon as I've got your brother sorted, we'll have a talk." He sent a small smile in Matt's direction before striding off towards the hospital area, Ben still unconscious in his arms.

The scene was very familiar, Tom thought as he stared at Anne before him. She had removed Ben's shirts and jeans, leaving the young boy in just his underwear and was doing a thorough examination of him. She'd done the exact same thing for his oldest son not an hour before.

Staring at Ben's body, the father couldn't help but gasp as he saw the state of his middle son. There were bruises and cuts littered all over his torso. None of them looked very serious, but it was shocking all the same. What had happened to Ben in that time he had been on his own?

"How's he doing?"

Tom turned to see Weaver standing in the doorway.

"He's doing okay, I guess," he looked back to Anne and Ben. Anne was currently hooking up an oxygen machine and sliding a mask over his face. Tom was immediately alarmed.

"Why does he need that?" he asked. Anne didn't look up as he answered, instead focusing on the patient lying on the bed.

"It's just a precaution. We don't know what that electricity did to his body, especially his lungs. If his lungs were damaged in any way, the oxygen will help. And even if they aren't, his body did go through an extreme shock, so this will help."

That made him feel somewhat better. "You don't know what it did?"

She shook her head. "I haven't gone far in my initial examination, but from what I've seen, it just looks like he's been electrocuted. But I don't want to take any chances, so I'll keep on working. Why don't you go check on Hal? And I know Matt is worried."

"But Ben…"

"Go." Anne didn't leave any room for an argument. "I know you're worried about Ben, but you've got another son unconscious as well and Matt now has two brothers who are essentially in hospital; it must be taking its toll on him too."

Tom couldn't bring himself to argue. She was right. Hal was also unconscious in another room, and he had promised Matt that they would talk. Weaver was still standing behind him, which Tom realised when he turned to leave the room.

"I'm sorry, Dan, but I've got to talk to Matt. I know there are a lot of things that we need to discuss, but give me half an hour, please…"

Weaver nodded. "Of course, Tom. You tend to your sons. I'll be in my allocated room. When you're ready, gather up Maggie, Anthony, Pope and Dai–" He cut himself off as he realised what he had said.

Tom bowed his head at the mention of the dead man; Dai had been an excellent fighter, and a great friend. His death would hit everyone hard. They'd lost too many over the past few months… Uncle Scott, Rick, Jimmy, Jamil, and now Dai…

After taking a few moments to compose himself, Weaver continued. "As I was saying – gather Maggie, Anthony, Pope and Tector and meet me in my room. We need to sort out a course of action and tend to… funeral arrangements."

Weaver stood aside and Tom nodded as he moved out of the room, heading towards where he knew his youngest son would be.

* * *

_He grinned as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes darkened maliciously. The first stage of his plan had been achieved. There would be no stopping them now. They would be victorious. Tom Mason and his merry men would be obliterated… by the last person they would __ever__ have imagined._

Hal groaned, a hand immediately snaking up to press against the spot on his head where the pain originated from. He blinked, bringing the world into focus. He was lying on the floor in a spacious, sparsely decorated room. A bed was situated right beside him, the sheets all rumpled and falling over the side. Had he fallen off the bed?

He moaned again, pushing himself into a sitting position. Where the hell was he? What had happened? The last thing he remembered…

Karen!

They'd been in a room that Ben had taken them to, a huge weapon of sorts built in the middle and pointing towards the sky. Skitters had attacked and they'd been captured. Karen had kissed him… and that's all he remembered.

Dai…

The older man had been killed in the attack.

"Oh my god…" Hal whispered. He closed his eyes, thinking of the fallen fighter. They'd been close. "No…"

He bent over, breath shuddering as he tried to compose himself. He was fighting back the tears when the sound of the door opening ripped through his thoughts.

"Hal!?"

He looked up through red-rimmed eyes to see Maggie standing in the doorway, her mouth open in shock. "Oh my god, Hal, you'reawake!"

The older woman rushed in and pulled him into a hug, which was slightly awkward, as he was still sitting on the ground. Her grip tightened around him as she mumbled something into his neck. Hal returned the embrace. His eyes flashed.

_Smelling the scent of the woman, he smirked. This could be used to their advantage. An emotional attachment was always good leverage…_

"Hal?"

Hal looked up at Maggie. She'd pulled out of the embrace and was now staring at him, concerned.

"Maggie?" he echoed her tone, grinning as he spoke. She visibly relaxed at his teasing.

"You're okay…" A pause. "C'mon, let's get you off the floor, huh? There are a lot of people who would love to see that you're okay. You had everyone worried."

"What happened? I don't… I don't really remember much. The last thing I know was that… uh… ___she_kissed me…"

Hal found it cute that Maggie's hackles rose when the kiss was mentioned. Cute.

The blonde woman took in a deep breath, helping Hal to his feet where he swayed unsteadily. He took a few steps back and sat on the edge of the bed, the world still slowly spinning around him.

"You remember everything up to _that_?"

Hal nodded.

"Anne said that it was quick. He wouldn't have felt a thing…" Hal knew exactly what Maggie was talking about and he was grateful that she had decided to forgo using his name. It was still all too fresh.

"After you collapsed, the rebel Skitters arrived and we managed to get free. Red-Eye was killed, but Tom managed to kill the Overlord. Karen got away," Maggie saw the questioning in his eyes. "We all got back safe, including Ben."

Hal sighed. At least his brother was okay. He had been a little worried going in, as he'd only just got him back and there was no telling what his connection with the Skitters would have done to him being so close to the Overlord and its cronies.

"So there was only one fatality?"

"Yeah…"

Hal frowned. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Maggie sighed. "A little while after we got back, the earth started to shake. Everyone thought it was an earthquake or something."

"It wasn't," Hal surmised.

Maggie shook her head, her blonde hair fanning out over her shoulders. "No, it wasn't. Most of us went outside and saw… well, there were _hundreds_of glowing blue lights that were falling from the sky. One landed near us. It was a pod."

"A pod? Maggie what happened?" He was getting worried now. Pods falling from the sky? A horrible thought occurred to him. "It wasn't another wave of attack was it?"

"It was another species of alien…"

Eyes widening, Hal froze. _What?__Another_ species of alien?

"The one we saw was dressed in black armour and had a funny wing thing on its back. Its skin was kinda red," she whispered, dreading what she was going to have tell him next.

"It attacked Ben," she revealed. Without giving Hal any time to respond, she continued. "It wrapped some kind of lightning rope around him and electrocuted him. It said something about him being the enemy and that he had to die."

"What?!" Hal breathed. "Ben was electrocuted by this alien!? Is he okay? Where is the alien now? What the hell is going on!?"

Maggie lowered her head. "Dr. Glass is looking at Ben now. The alien is gone. After letting Ben go, it took off." She looked up, her bottom lip trembling a little. "I don't know what's going on, Hal. Everything's in chaos. No one knows what's gonna happen now…"

She leaned over and embraced him again. His girlfriend was extremely close to tears, which was not a position Maggie was in very often. "I don't know either Maggie…

_But what I do know is that even with that blasted race showing up and with our main weapon gone, this war is not over. We will win, no matter what. Tom Mason and the Second Massachusetts will be destroyed, even if it has to be done one person at a time and the Earth will be ours._

Maggie never noticed that Hal's eyes darkened maliciously and an evil smirk decorated his lips.

* * *

Oooooh... there be plans in motion... Did you find the hidden clue thingys? I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

I thought I'd better add that the parts in italics in HAL'S SECTION are the evil little bug thing talking in his mind. I thought that the evil little critter wouldn't be in possession of Hal's mind and body all the time, but more like a second, evil, subconsciousness that could take over whenever it liked.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Love ya.

-Dancer


	3. Time Is Precious

DISCLAIMER: Falling Skies belongs to TNT, Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg.

Okay first off – a HUGE thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited! I never thought this would be as popular as it has been. So THANK YOU. I hope you all continue to follow me through this journey :)

Anywho, I ended up rewriting this chapter FOUR times, so I hope it still reads okay!

**HAS BEEN BETA'D AS OF 2ND OF SEPTEMBER - huge thanks go to EMOTIONAL DALEK for her awesomeness!**

Enjoy the chapter :)

The lyrics are from a Within Temptation song called _Frozen._ It's a great song. I suggest listening to it when reading the second part of the chapter.

Tissue warning…?

* * *

**TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?_

* * *

-FALLING SKIES SEASON 3-

Chapter 2 – Time Is Precious

Ben slowly swam into the realm of consciousness. He attempted to pry his eyes open several times before they obliged and he was assaulted with a harsh, white light. Screwing his eyes closed again, Ben tried to sift through all the information swirling around in his brain.

He was lying on something soft, his head also resting on something incredibly comfortable. There was a strange stinging sensation coming from his right hand and something was resting over his nose and mouth. It was rather annoying.

Lifting a hand sluggishly, he attempted to swat at whatever was on his face, only to have someone grab his arm and slowly bring it back down to rest beside his body. Ben opened his eyes a slit, revelling in the fact he was able to. He peered around and saw that he was lying on a bed. There was a needle inserted into the back of his right hand, a clear tube snaking over his arm and disappearing behind his head.

"Ben?"

He shifted on the bed, feeling the stiffness of his body at the movement. Hearing the voice, he turned his head to the right, a weak smile gracing his lips as he saw his dad sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"Dad?" he croaked out, wincing at how weak his voice was. "Wha?"

"Shhh," his dad said, leaning forward and gripping Ben's lax right hand with his own. "You've been through one hell of an ordeal kiddo. Just relax."

"The alien…" He ignored his dad. What he was going to say was cut short as he began to cough. It felt like an iron band was tightening around his chest as he fought for breath. What he now realised was that the oxygen mask wasn't helping at all.

"Shhhh," his dad repeated as he lifted him into a half leaning, half sitting position and began to rub circles on his back, careful to avoid the spikes piercing through the skin.

Ben continued to cough, struggling to inhale even with the mask covering his mouth. What seemed like an eternity later, the coughing eased and he was finally able to breathe again. His dad started to lower him back onto the bed, but Ben protested.

"No… please. I can't breathe when I lie like that," he rasped. After a few seconds of contemplation, his dad reached behind him and fluffed his pillows, before adding a few more. He was gently pushed back into the soft pillows. Sighing in relief at the fact the iron band around his chest was still at bay, Ben closed his eyes and relished in the pure oxygen filtering into his lungs.

"Tom?"

Anne Glass entered the small cubicle, her eyes widening as she took in the scene before her. "Ben, you're awake…"

"Hi, Dr. Glass." He winced at how rough the words sounded. Even muffled through the oxygen mask, Ben could tell he sounded like crap.

The next few minutes comprised of Ben being told to lie still while Anne took his pulse, heart rate and performed several other tests. By the time she was done, Ben could feel the exhaustion beginning to wash over him like a tidal wave. He fought against it, shaking his head and blinking several times and attempted to sit up straighter.

"Apart from a little wheeziness in his lungs," Anne was saying, "he seems in perfect health. I would say that the shock from the electricity combined with the rain that acted as a conductorcaused his lungs to seize up a little, which has come out in asthma-like symptoms. It should clear up given time."

"Dad? Hal?" Ben asked as he remembered what had happened to his older brother. Hal had still been unconscious when the other aliens had arrived.

His dad smiled. "Hal's fine." Ben sunk back into the pillows in relief as Tom carried on. "He woke up late last night. Anne checked him over and there seems to be no lasting damage."

"What…" Ben began, unsure of how to ask. "What… about Dai?" His voice was low, barely able to be heard through the plastic oxygen mask. He lowered his eyes as he spoke, feeling guilty for the man's death. _He'd _been the one to lead everyone to the weapon, and _he_hadn't been able to warn anyone about the Skitter attack until it was too late. And Dai had died as a result of his incompetence.

Tom sighed wearily, his eyes closing briefly as Dai's image appeared in his mind. "There's going to be a service later on today. We're going to bury him in the burial area the New Charleston government has decided upon. It's in a grassy verge near the entrance to the Tunnel."

The Tunnel was the ramp that cars would have driven down to the underground parking. It was one of the only safe (and guarded) entrances to the mall and subsequent New Charleston underground city.

"I want to go."

"What?" was the surprised reply. "Ben, you just woke up! It's been decided that despite the storm, the service will be outside and I don't want you out there in this weather!"

"But Dad!" Ben complained. Dai had been his friend, and he wanted to say goodbye. "I just want to be there for the service. He… he was a friend, okay? You gotta let me go-"

He broke off as another coughing fit started. Ben leant forward, breathing heavily into the mask that was providing the much-needed oxygen. Worst timing ever…

After the fit has subsided, Ben glanced up to his father, tears brimming in his eyes partly because of the force of the fit, but partly because of Dai…

"Please, Dad… Just for a little bit. I promise I'll come back if I feel worse."

After a lengthy pause, his father spoke. "…Alright. But _only _if you're off the oxygen by the time the service starts, and you _promise_that you'll come back if you feel worse!"

"I promise," he whispered.

It was then that the door swept open and Hal and Matt piled in, smiling. Ben grinned as he saw his brothers, especially Hal. He was glad that his older brother was okay.

Little did they know that in the next few days everything would change again…

* * *

___Everything will slip away_

___Shattered pieces will remain_

___When memories fade into emptiness_

___Only time will tell its tale_

___If it all has been in vain_

It was still raining. Large droplets of cold water fell from the sky in torrents, soaking the earth as well as the inhabitants crazy enough to venture out into the downpour. Lightning ripped through the clouds, the flashes illuminating the destroyed skyline of Charleston. It was closely followed by the boom of thunder which shook the ground with the sheer force of the explosion of sound.

Tom Mason stood in the midst of the raging storm – along with over a hundred others. They were all soaked to the bone, shivering, and their lips turning a frightful shade of blue. But none of them made a move to scurry back to the warm, dry comforts of the underground mall that served as the New Charleston.

Men, women and children alike stood together, heads bowed and their eyes closed. Not a sound came from the hundreds of people, the only noise being that of the storm raging above their heads.

Before them was a crudely made wooden box, shaped like a coffin. Inside lay one of the finest men Tom had had the pleasure of knowing; had the honour of fighting next to.

Dai…

Captain Weaver stood at the front of the group, his head also bowed in respect for the fallen soldier and comrade. His hands were clasped together in a tight grip, looking something like a distorted version of the international prayer sign. He was still wearing his cap.

Tom didn't know why that seemed so symbolic - it was only a cap - but it did. The father of three knew the man was riddled with guilt – that he hadn't been able to save the man from death. Tom had attempted to speak to the captain about it. He had been brushed off.

Looking beside him, Tom locked eyes with his three sons. Ben had woken early that morning after being unconscious for almost twelve hours. He hadn't wanted him out in the rain, but the teen had persisted. As soon as the funeral was over, he was heading back to the medical ward. Ben had his arms wrapped around Matt, protecting his younger brother from the worst of the onslaught of rain. Tom couldn't help but smile weakly at the sign of brotherly love. Ben really did watch out for his younger sibling.

Hal was standing on the other side of him. The eldest of his boys had woken the night before. After being checked out by Anne, he had been declared healthy and only ordered to take some painkillers for the headache that had come on suddenly. Anne was still going to keep an eye on him though, just in case.

Breaking out of his thoughts, Tom looked back to where Weaver was standing. Several loud booms of thunder shook the sky, creating a symphony of chaos that seemed to be unending. The rain started to drop faster and harder; the wind picking up and throwing around whatever it could pick up in its clutches.

Over the noise of the thunder and wind, Captain Weaver began to speak.

"Dai was one of the finest men I had the pleasure of knowing." He had to shout to be heard over the storm. "He was an excellent soldier, a loyal man and a great friend. He always did what needed to be done without complaint and there was never a moment that I was in doubt of his abilities." Weaver paused. "One of the only good things to come out of this mess with the aliens is that I've had the pleasure and honour of meeting some of the finest men and women this planet has to offer. Before the invasion, Dai had been a manager of a jewellery store… He stepped up to the task of being one of the Second Mass's soldiers and became one of the best damn fighters I had the honour of serving with."

Weaver stopped as the storm hit a crescendo, the noise too loud to be heard over. Several people ducked and cried out, fearing the worst.

"Dai will be sorely missed. And I repeat what I said earlier. He was an excellent soldier, a loyal man and a great friend…"The rain continued to pour.

"But we must carry on. We will always have the memories of Dai, and all the others that have fallen in this terrible time. I am positive that all of them would likeus to continue on; to continue fighting! We may have been dealt another setback," Tom immediately thought of the new species of alien. "But we will persevere! We will fight inmemory of all those lost, and with the thought of all those we want to save!"

"Dad?"

Tom was torn away from Weaver's heart-wrenching-turned-inspirational speech as his youngest son tugged on his jacket. Tom bent down slightly and leaned closer to his son, who was still wrapped in his older brother's arms.

"What is it, Matt?"

"Am I going to die too?" Oh how the childlike innocence came to the forefront of the human mind when faced with tragedy. It made Tom realise how young his son really was.

Tom was taken aback at the blunt question. He opened his mouth to answer, but was beaten to it.

"No, of course not doofus."

Ben…

His middle child smiled weakly when Tom locked eyes with him.

"How are you gonna die when you've got me, Dad, Hal, Weaver, and everyone else to protect you? Don't worry little bro, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Don't you worry."

It was then that Tom noticed something off about Ben. It took a few seconds for his brain to figure out what it was and he mentally kicked himself.

Ben was alarmingly pale, his dark blonde hair plastered to his head with water dripping from the darkened strands and down his face. His breathing was off slightly, but that wasn't what was worrying Tom. His middle child's sculpted cheeks were flushed red with fever.

Tom reached over and placed a freezing hand on Ben's forehead, but due to the sheer coldness of his own hands, he couldn't tell whether his son felt warm or not.

"Ben, go back inside. Take Matt with you," he ordered.

The teenager's face contorted into an expression of confusion and pinched with anger. "What? Why? I want to say goodbye to Dai!"

"Ben, don't argue with me! You promised me that if you felt worse you'd go back. Now I can tell that you don't feel well and you've been able to say goodbye, so please… pease just go back inside."

His son opened his mouth to argue, but Tom was having none of it. "Matt," he addressed his youngest. "Take Ben back and tell Anne that I want her to take another look at him, okay?"

In truth, Tom should have listened to his partner in the first place. She'd pleaded with him not to let Ben out in the rain to go to Dai's service. She wasn't going herself as she didn't want to get sick, especially with the baby.

Grumbling under his breath, Ben shook his arm out of Matt's grip and stalked out of the huddled group. Several people turned to watch the formerly harnessed boy go, followed quickly by his younger brother. Tom saw them disappear into the tunnel before turning his attention back to the service. Weaver was still shouting above the wild storm above them and Tom could barely hear a word he was saying.

The rain had calmed a little by now. It was still falling, but not as heavy, and the droplets were smaller. Another bolt of lightning rippled across the sky, illuminating the area with its brilliant light.

"Tom?" The father of three was snapped out of his musings. Weaver was standing at the front of the group, staring in his direction. It was obvious by the look on the captain's face that he had just asked him a question.

"Sorry, what?" Tom asked.

"Would you like to say a few words?"Tom didn't have to think twice. Of course he would love to honour the memory of a great friend. He nodded, before beginning to move forward, the crowd parting slightly to let him through.

Reaching Weaver's position, Tom turned to look at everyone gathered. Even though the storm was horrendous, everyone still decided to brave it and say a final goodbye to a well-respected and liked friend. It really made you value those good people still left in the dystopian world they were left in.

Tom cleared his throat before beginning to speak.

"Like Captain Weaver said before, Dai was an excellent soldier and friend. He really was one of a kind. He came from no military or police background, but was able to pick up everything extremely quickly. He was reliable, a quick thinker and got on with virtually everyone he ever met. He was a great asset to the Second Mass and I know his presence will be sorely missed by everyone."

He paused, taking in a shuddering breath as he remembered his fallen friend.

"There's not a lot to say that hasn't already been said and I'm sure no one wants to be out in this weather much longer." He turned his gaze to the casket that lay in the middle of the circle of people. Someone had draped an American flag over the wood. "Goodbye my good friend. You will be missed."

He turned back to the crowd. "A minute of silence in respect for another of our fallen comrades…"

So they stood, as the sky fell in raindrops around them – the remaining Second Massachusetts Militia Group (and several from New Charleston) remembering the latest fallen comrade in the fight to protect their planet – their home – from the invaders hell-bent on destroying them.

At the moment Tom was glad of the rain, as it hid the tears that fell.

Dai was not the first of them to fall, nor would he be the last, but they would do everything in their power to prevent any more from succumbing to the finality of death. It would not be easy, and there would be many struggles ahead, but Tom was certain that they would prevail. He would not let those who had given their lives for the cause - Uncle Scott, Jimmy, Rick, Dai- be in vain.

And he would start with his own family, he thought as he looked towards where Ben had vanished.

* * *

I hope you all liked the chapter! Not much really happened in this one… but I had to wake Ben up and I wanted Dai's funeral to be sooner rather than later. Next chapter will start with the main plot (some alien action!) plus some more problems for the Mason family…

What did you think of the service? Was it okay?

Thanks for reading! Please review!


	4. Where To Go From Here

**DISCLAIMER: Falling Skies belongs to TNT, Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg. **

Thanks for all the awesome reviews! Love hearing from you all. As a reward you get this chapter super early! I started writing it as soon as the other one was up.

HUGE thanks to **Emotional Dalek** for beta-ing this for me. I don't know what I'd do without her XD

Please check out the new poll on my profile page! Would love to know what you all think :) Oh and check out JoyScott13's Falling Skies vids on YouTube (under the same name). They're amazing!

This is a long one, so here we go!

* * *

**TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?_

* * *

-FALLING SKIES SEASON 3-

Chapter 3 – Where to Go From Here

Another day passed in New Charleston. Many of the underground city's population were beginning to get restless and nervous on account of there being no more contact from the new aliens since their initial arrival almost two days earlier. The storm had passed thankfully, leaving the air wet with lingering moisture and the ground struggling to contain the aftermath of the downpour. Outside was calm and serene, a 180 degree difference from the atmosphere days before. Although birds no longer inhabited the vast wasteland that was Old Charleston, there was still the occasional song carrying from the outskirts of the city – a sweet melodious song that betrayed the tense and arduous haze covering the destroyed settlement.

Deep inside the new hidden city was a completely different story. New Charleston was a hive of bustling activity. Children were ushered to and from places with an anxious urgency, being told many times over to keep their voices down. Soldiers patrolled the 'streets', armed with the weapons taken from the cache in the car park.

Then there was the Room. When New Charleston had first been formed, it had been used as the designation meeting room to discuss any and all important matters pertaining to the safety and survival of the city. It was something akin to what used to be the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC.

And for the last day, the door had been firmly shut and guarded by no less than two soldiers at all times. Many of New Charleston's inhabitants had noticed thatNC's military's higher-ups were missing and so were the heads of the Second Massachusetts Militia Regiment. They could only speculate what was going on behind that ominous closed door.

Inside sat a large white table placed in the middle of the spacious room. Many chairs were scattered around the table, many filled by the members of the NC Government, the Military or the Second Mass.

Captain Weaver sat next to Tom Mason, his second-in-command. Hal Mason sat on his other side, the boy having recovered enough from the Skitter attack to be in attendance. Others sitting on his side of the table included Anthony, Maggie, Doctor Glass, Ben Mason – who was currently being fussed over by the doctor – Tector and Pope. There was a seat at the end of the table left empty, in respect for the fallen soldier Dai that would have occupied it had he not been killed some days before. They represented the Second Massachusetts Militia Regiment.

On the other side of the table sat General Bressler and his group of men and women, who were speaking for the New Charleston Military. Only Arthur Manchester stood in for the NC Government, as he was primarily the only one that had been so far elected.

"Shall we begin?" Manchester spoke. He sat at the head of the table, looking every part of Judge, Jury and Executioner. Dan Weaver narrowed his eyes. He hadn't liked the idea of the meeting in the first place; not off to a good start in his book.

A general murmur rippled through those gathered. Weaver sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table before clasping his hands together and resting his chin on them.

"I think we should start off with the sudden appearance of these new aliens," Bressler stated, "and why in the hell they decided to arrive now." Weaver didn't miss the sly glance shot towards the middle Mason child, who was sitting between his father and Anne Glass and was looking every part of a petulant teenager.

Ben bristled at the look, his back straightening as he pushed himself more upright in his chair. The kid was still pale from the encounter with the alien two days before. Attending Dai's funeral service in the middle of a storm hadn't helped his condition either, and had ended up with a slight fever overnight. He'd all but kicked and screamed in order to be let in for the meeting.

Tom and Hal also tensed at Bressler's words; Weaver having no doubt in his mind that they'd also seen the look. Both Mason men were paler than usual. Tom obviously had an awful lot on his mind, with both his elder sons either having been unconscious, injured or sick in some way and the news that his partner was now pregnant with his fourth child.

Hal had been through an ordeal, and it still wasn't clear what Karen had done to the teen, but Weaver had allowed him to the meeting all the same. He had ordered Maggie, Tector and Anthony to keep an eye on him just in case though.

"I have a feeling it had something to do with the destruction of that weapon," Tom answered. Weaver nodded in agreement. Tom had told him about Ben's remark in the warehouse, about the weapon not being intended for humans…

Eyes narrowed at the statement. "And why do you say that, Tom?" Bressler asked. The man had been nice for all of five minutes when they'd returned victorious from the mission. He'd never wanted them to go in the first place, but after they had succeeded, Bressler had treated them all like war heroes. And then the new aliens arrived and that all went down the drain.

"It just seems odd that after we managed to destroy a weapon _that was suspiciously pointed towards the sky, _a previously unknown race of aliens appeared. They didn't attack and ended up leaving minutes after arriving," Weaver spoke, his voice clipped as he asserted his authority. The Second Mass had achieved a hell of a lot in the short time he had been in command and he was damn well proud of it – of all his men. He wasn't about to let some upstart military _general_degrade anything about the militia group he had come to see as family.

"It was pointed at the sky?" one of the other military personnel asked. "Why? They've already destroyed all our air support."

"Exactly," Tom added. "Which, after some deliberation, I've come to the conclusion that maybe the new aliens had been waiting just out of their radar's reach and as soon as the weapon – that may have been pointed in their general direction – had been destroyed, they took the opportunity to land here."

Some murmurs of agreement followed Tom's theory. Weaver had to hand it to the ex-professor, he had a damn good mind, and even under all the stress, he was able to come up with solid theories one after the other.

"Well what do these new aliens want then?" Bressler snapped, his face taking on a purple hue.

"We don't know." It was Hal. Although Hal had actually never seen the new aliens for himself, he had been debriefed on everything about them since waking up – including the attack on his younger brother. "All we know is that the one we encountered said something about the 'Harnessed Ones' being the enemy."

Weaver saw Hal's hands grip into tight fists as he thought about Ben's attack. Maggie reached over and clasped one of his hands with her own, keeping it there even after the grip was released.

"So you think these aliens are the enemy of the Overlords?" It was Bressler again. His face was still a light shade of purple, which Weaver was certain would morph into that horrible mottled purple if he got any angrier. To be honest, Dan just thought Bressler was pissed he hadn't encountered the new aliens himself, which, given the amount of time the red-skinned alien was outside for, was worrying in itself.

"Yes."

All heads spun to where Ben was sitting. His answer had been so sure that even Weaver had to do a small double take. Was Ben certain? Were the new aliens the Overlord's enemies?

Bressler sneered. "And why do you think that, Ben Mason? For all we know, you could be in cohorts with the Overlords. God knows what those Skitters did to you when you were off gallivanting around the country with them."

Gasps echoed around the room. Weaver had to reach up and grab Tom's arm to stop him from launching himself across the table at Bressler. It had been an unnecessary comment, but looking over at the boy in question, Weaver saw that the sandy-haired teen was unfazed by the accusation.

"The fact that you still don't believe in the Skitter Rebellion – even after their leader died trying to save us – shows how close minded you really are, _General_." The last word was spat out, Ben's eyes hardening into blocks of dark coal."I was attacked when it arrived here. It said the 'Harnessed Ones' were the enemy and that they had to die. _Harnessed Ones_. It's a proven fact that the Skitters had been harnessed themselves. You work out the rest."

Weaver gaped. When the hell had Ben gotten the guts to speak up like that? What the hell did that alien do to him? Glancing over at Bressler, Weaver had to fight back a grin as he saw the mottled purple colour flood the normally pale General's face.

Bressler opened his mouth to retaliate, but was stopped as Arthur Manchester stood, his chair scraping against the concrete floor loudly.

"Enough. We're here to figure out what the hell is going on, and where we can go from here – not to bicker amongst ourselves and throw accusations around at each other. Are we clear?"

Dan nodded in agreement. The rest of the Second Mass did the same, even Ben.

"Okay, good," Manchester continued on. "So we now have a theory on which side the aliens are on. Apart from the little incident with the young Mason boy, they haven't outright attacked us yet and left quickly after making initial contact. But theories are not what we need at this point in time. We need facts. Cold, hard facts."

Arthur sat back down, before pulling out a few sheets of blank paper and a pencil. "What do we know about these new aliens so far? Ben?"

The teen looked up, shocked that he had been called on.

"You've had the closest encounter with these aliens. What did you learn?"

Ben looked to his father, eyes wide and filled with questioning. He seemed to have lost all the bravado he'd gained earlier while defending himself against Bressler.

Tom nodded. "It's okay, Ben. Just tell them what you told me."

He took in a shuddering breath which was painfully noticeable in the now-silent room. "Well…" he began. "They wear some kind of armour. I don't know anything about it, other than it's black."

Manchester scribbled a few things down on the paper. "Anything else? Weapons…communication?"

"Uhhh…" Ben bit his lip, once again looking to his father for guidance. "They use electricity as a weapon. There's some kind of device on their wrists that controls it. They… they made it into some kind of rope." The teen shuddered at the memory of the electric rope wrapping painfully around his body.

More scribbling as pencil met paper.

"And what about communication?"

These were simple questions that virtually everyone in the room already knew the answers to. Weaver knew it was a good tactic – start with the facts that everyone knew and then start to discuss and expand on them. He'd heard from Tom that originally that's how they'd started to figure out what the hell the Skitters and Mechs were when they had first arrived.

"They use their minds," Maggie answered, taking the pressure off Ben. "We think it's something similar to how the Skitters and Overlords must communicate with – or through – the harnessed kids. We heard it speak when it had attacked Ben, but it never spoke a single word. It was all in our heads."

"What did it say?" another military man asked.

Weaver answered: "_He is the enemy. He must die._"

"And who was it speaking about? Was it Ben?" Weaver nodded again. "Okay," Manchester placed the pencil down leaning back in his chair. "So far, we know that these new aliens have been able to utilize the power of electricity as a weapon; they communicate using some form of telepathy, which could be based of the Skitters, and they very well may be the enemy of our enemy…"

"Not _very__,__ well __maybe_… They ___are _the enemy of the Overlords and Skitters."

"Ben?" Tom and Hal gasped in unison. Weaver's eyes narrowed as he looked over at Ben. What was the boy on about? So far it was all speculation. How could he be so sure?

"And why are you so sure about this, boy?" Bressler growled. Weaver made a note to watch the General around the formerly harnessed teen. The elder man obviously had some issues with the young man.

"Because it told me."

_What?__! _Weaver felt his mouth drop open at the admission. He wasn't the only one.

"_What? _Ben, what's going on? What haven't you told us?!" Tom was furious, and Weaver couldn't blame him. That was one hell of a secret to keep.

Ben had the sense to look ashamed at his father's reprimand.

"I don't know how I know… I think I was unconscious at the time… but I remember it telling me that I was the enemy – that the Skitters and Overlords were the enemy and we had to die. They're here to kill them."

Silence met his admission.

"So my theory is right?" Weaver looked to Tom. He had turned paler, his eyes locked on his middle son as he spoke. "The new aliens are the Overlords' enemies… But what does that make them to us?"

Another moment of silence.

"Are they our… allies?" Anthony asked, his face screwed up in confusion. "But… ugh. This is too confusing. I think I liked it better when we didn't even know about the bloody Fish Heads."

A few nervous laughs escaped from several people. Pope snorted and everyone turned to the ex-convict.

"What?" he shrugged, nonplussed at the attention he was getting. When no one spoke, the long-haired man sighed. "Well, honestly? What fucking planet are you all living on?! They're _aliens_... Y'know, those out-of-this-world creatures that have been trying to wipe us of the face of this planet for the past year? Then suddenly a ___new _type of scaly thingshows up and your immediate reaction is that they're our '_ally', _just because the spiky kid over there said so? Whatever you're smoking, I don't want any!"

There was an uproar at Pope's statement. Weaver had to admit, the man had some very valid points. Just because the new aliens hadn't attacked (temporarily ignoring the situation with Ben), didn't mean that they weren't a threat. What had they been thinking, grouping them as an ally so soon?! For all they knew, the armour-clad creatures were just another group of soldiers fighting for the Overlords, and the whole 'the Harnessed Ones are the enemy' was just a ploy to gain their were going to have to tread very carefully from now on.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Pope's right," Weaver shouted above the chatter. "We have absolutely _no idea_what these new aliens want, or what they're capable of. Everything is speculation at this point and because of that we're going to have to tread carefully. Until we encounter these aliens again, we're going to have to be focused on gathering as much intel as we can to base a decision around. We don't even know if they'll ever come back at this point."

"I agree," Bressler growled. "Until proven otherwise, we are to treat the new aliens as the enemy – just we once did for the Skitters and Mechs."

"I also agree," Manchester spoke. "We will continue to gather as much information as possible about our new arrivals, as well as anything about the Skitters and Overlords. We will placeNew Charleston on complete lock-down, except for those going on scouting missions or food and weapon runs."

There were nods of agreement and murmurs of support amongthose gathered. Weaver had to agree that it was a smart move, but there were still other problems to be discussed. The new aliens were only the tip of the iceberg. He looked to Tom and his men and women, also seeing their nods of approval. But ifpush came to shove, they would be high-tailing it out of New Charleston as fast as someone could yell 'Skitter.'

"The Second Massachusetts Militia Regiment agrees," Weaver stated formally. "We support this action and wish to remain as a militia group to help with the scouting and supply runs." Next to the NC Military, the Second Mass was the second largest soldier faction currently in New Charleston. They were still a force to be reckoned with.

"Alright, Captain Weaver," Bressler nodded. "Agreed."

"New arrivals aside, what are we going to do about the Overlords now? And especially Karen…"

Manchester and Bressler blinked in surprise, having evidently forgotten about the harnessed girl that had once been a fighter in the Second Mass.

"As I recall… this Karen…?" Arthur paused for confirmation, "this Karen escaped after the defeat of the Overlord?"

"Yes," Tom answered. "She attacked us, tortured myself, Weaver and my son Hal before the Skitter Rebellion arrived and managed to free us. We were able to overpower them and the Overlord was killed, along with the leader of the Rebellion. She then escaped."

Tom looked to his middle son as he mentioned Red-Eye. Weaver knew the boy was still upset at the death of the Skitter, even though the creature had caused the death of the teen's closest friend; Jimmy.

Weaver couldn't bring himself to feel sad over Red-Eye's death. Jimmy was still a sore subject for the captain, and it had been Red-Eye who had been responsible for the boy's tragic end.

"No one saw where she went?"

"She scaled the wall of the chamber, disappearing over the top. We decided not to follow her. We had to destroy the weapon, and then we had our own downed men to take care of," Weaver explained. Their already small group had been even smaller then, with Dai having passed on and Hal unconscious.

Manchester sighed, rubbing a hand over his head. "Okay, so Karen is long gone. I doubt we'll find her again, unless she decides to try and find us. I have another question though – what happens with the Skitter Rebellion now that the supposed leader is dead?"

It was a good question. Weaver knew that the higher-ups of New Charleston thought the Skitter Rebellion was a complete load of bullshit. Even with the death of those who had travelled with Ben to NC, and the death of Red-Eye, there was no doubt in Weaver's mind that there were still other groups situated around the country, if not the world.

"Ben?" Tom asked, turning to his son. Ben had been the liaison between the harnessed children and Rebel Skitters. If anyone knew anything, it was him. Hal leaned forward in his seat, eyes narrowing in anticipation of the answer.

"It's over."

_What?_

"What do you mean, boy?" Bressler snapped.

Ben flinched a little at the tone. "The Rebellion's no more. With Red-Eye dead, they have no leader. He was the one to recruit, and with him gone, they've all gone into hiding. Even with the death of the Overlord, without Red-Eye it's too dangerous for them now."

"They're running _scared_? After everything they preached to us, they've gone and ___run away_?"

"No!" Ben shouted, pushing his chair back and stood. "You don't understand! None of you do!"

"Then explain it to us, Ben," Tom said calmly as he stood and made his way over to his son. "What did Red-Eye say to you before he died?"

Ben's mouth opened and closed, his eyes wide, as he struggled on what to say. Everyone's eyes were on the fifteen-year-old boy.

"I… He… he said…"

* * *

Hal leaned forward as the Skitter Rebellion was mentioned.

_'Good… this will be a good chance to figure out where we will be able to go from here. If the Rebellion is still active, this may prove to be a problem, but if it's gone… He almost grinned, but kept his facial muscles in check as not to arouse suspicion.'_

"It's over," his brother said to the silent room.

"What do you _mean_, boy?" Bressler snapped.

Hal watched as Ben flinched at the General's tone. "The Rebellion's no more; it's just too dangerous."

Shocked at Ben's revelation, Hal felt his mouth drop open. Everything his brother had tried to help with was now gone? The whole Rebellion was no more?

_'Yes! His eyes narrowed as the ramifications settled in. With the Rebellion running into hiding, it would be much easier to achieve their goals.'__  
_

Hal couldn't help but feel sorry for his brother. Ben had been through a lot over the past couple of months and couldn't seem to catch a break. He'd been taken by the Skitters, harnessed and used as a slave. Then he'd been rescued, but even then it wasn't over. The effects of having the harness on for so long came with complications. He'd been treated as an outsider by the majority of the camp, called names and generally just treated like shit.

In the months after their father's disappearance, Ben had started to accept the abilities the harness gave him, and had started to use them for good. He'd developed to be one hell of a fighter and had become sort of their go-to guy for anything Skitter related.

Then Red-Eye had come along, Jimmy had been killed and everything had gone to hell in a hand basket. Karen had come back and tried to kidnap him which, in turn, had led to the attack on the hospital and Ben leaving the Second Mass to find more kids like him.

"Can you repeat that?" Hal was brought out of his musings as Bressler spoke loudly. He didn't sound pleased either.

The eldest Mason boy looked to his younger brother. Ben was standing very still, his head lowered and eyes downcast. Their dad stood next to him, a reassuring hand gently resting on his upper arm in support.

"… He said that it was okay – that I had done my part and now it was time for me to return to my own family. He said that even though the Rebellion was done, the war wasn't over. Reinforcements were coming."

"Reinforcements? There are more Skitters coming?" Bressler ordered.

"I don't know," Ben mumbled, bringing his gaze up to look at Bressler. "I didn't get a chance to ask anything."

"And why was that?"

"He died…"

Hal took that moment to take a good look at Ben. He was still pale from the attack, and the light red flush from the fever brought on from being outside for Dai's service was still evident.

_'He knows more than what he's saying. Hal leaned back in his chair, staring at Ben. It was obvious in the way he kept averting his eyes from locking__with anyone __else's__ for too long. He knows more about the reinforcements__, __he surmised__, b__ut he'd already stated that the Rebellion was no more. So these reinforcements… could it be these other red-skinned aliens that the humans have mentioned?'_

Hal gasped, the sound echoing through the room. Several pairs of eyes turned in his direction, including those of his younger brother.

_'It couldn't be… _They _couldn't be here…'_

* * *

Ben's eyes narrowed as he felt familiar warmth spread down his spine – a sure sign that his spikes had recognised a connection of sorts and had begun to glow a florescent blue, before quickly being dropped and the warmth vanished. Only, he had been looking at his older brother when the connection had happened.

"Hal?"

There was no answer. His brother was staring off into space, his eyes dark. Ben opened his mouth to repeat his question when the door to the meeting room was thrown open. A womanstood in the doorway. Her breathing was ragged and her hair was a mess.**

"Skitters," she said breathlessly. "They're converging on the city. I don't know if they're with the Rebellion."

Ben stared in horror. All the Skitters in the Rebellion had gone into hiding, so the hundreds surrounding the city…

… were the enemy.

His locked eyes with his dad and moments later all hell broke loose.

* * *

*hides* Don't hurt me? I know I kinda, sorta in a roundabout way answered some questions... okay maybe not... But I now have a clear path I'm going to take and there will be some answers in later chapters, but I don't want to reveal everything just yet! And sorry there was no action this chapter. But I can 110 per cent promise there will be some next time!

I am _loving _writing this, and I can't wait until we get a little more through it and I can start unveiling all the awesome ideas I have! I hope you will all like them :)

Once again, thanks for taking the time to read this. Please review and let me know what you think so far!


	5. A City Falls

I have upped the rating to 'T' due to some gore in the chapter.

Thanks for all the amazing reviews guys! As promised, there is action in this chapter! It was harder than normal to write, so I'm sorry about the wait. But, I've just started my new job so I won't have as much time to write anymore. I'm still going to try to get one chapter out a week, but sometimes it could take a little longer.

If anyone has read my new oneshot called Blessed In More Ways Than One - NO it isn't connected to this one. I have other ideas about the aliens for this story :)

Also, for those who love a good alien show, maybe check out an old TV show (I think it was around in 2006-ish) called Invasion. It's really good! It's a little creepy at times, but has a good base and the main family is pretty cool :) I keep switching between re-watching that and re-watching Falling Skies lol.

Huge thanks to **Emotional Dalek **for once again doing an amazing beta-ing job! If there are any mistakes anywhere, it's because I added a little after getting the chapter back.

Okay, enough from me. Enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

**TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?_

* * *

-FALLING SKIES SEASON 3-

Chapter 4 – A City Falls

Ben jumped out of his seat as soon as the words were out of the woman's mouth. Clenching his hands into fists, the de-harnessed boy raced out of the room and into the hall where several fighters were standing guard. Their weapons were at the ready and the safety flicked off. Ben stopped as he reached the middle of the hall and closed his eyes, focusing.

He felt the familiar warmth spreading down his spine, lighting the spikes a fluorescent blue that shone through his black t-shirt. Ben felt the Skitters now, his abilities strong enough that he was able to detect them even though they seemed to be attempting to shield themselves from him.

There were hundreds and they completely surrounded New Charleston. A sudden pressure in his mind made Ben cry out. He gasped, a hand shooting up to his head as the pressure increased. An Overlord was near. He could feel the alien pushing against his mind, trying to get into his thoughts. Ben fought back, eyes screwed shut as he struggled against the force of the Overlord.

He barely heard someone calling his name as the young fighter fell to his knees. Arms wrapped around his torso, pulling him close. Ben screamed again, the pain increasing. He was weakening and he didn't know how much longer he would be able to hold out.

All of a sudden the pressure was gone. The pain ebbed away, leaving him with a mild headache pounding behind his eyes. Feeling tears slip from his eyes, Ben brought up a shaky hand and swiped it over his face, wiping away the evidence.

"Ben?" The voice was calm and soothing in his ear. Ben turned his head slightly, seeing that the arms wrapped tightly around him belonged to his dad. Shifting a little more, he saw Weaver, Bressler and Manchester staring at them. Weaver looked concerned while Bressler just looked pissed.

"What is it, Ben?" Weaver pressed when he didn't answer his dad.

Taking in a shaky breath, Ben hesitated. "S-Skitters," he stumbled over the word. "They-they've surrounded the place. There's an Overlord with them…" he whispered the last part, his strength wavering. The mental fight with the Overlord had drained him more than he realised.

"How the hell did they find us?!" General Bressler demanded as he stormed over, glaring at Ben. Ben was about to respond when he was cut off by the sound of gunfire echoing through the underground mall-city. Another wave of warmth shot down his spine.

"They're inside," he said, voice low. Pushing himself out of his father's arms, Ben braced his legs and attempted to stand. The first attempt failed miserably, but he managed to get himself up, wavering slightly. Something felt off.

Ben took a few seconds to get his bearings, ignoring the concerned looks his dad, brother, Weaver and Anne were shooting him. "Captain Weaver, they're inside," he repeated stronger this time.

The leader of the Second Mass nodded. The soldier turned to Hal, Maggie, Tector and Pope. "Alright, head to the armoury stat and get as many weapons as you can! Maggie, I want you to start rounding up the civilians, and make sure they'll be able to move quickly if we need to evacuate; you know the evac points."

Ben watched the four of them race off, Maggie quickly grabbing his brother's hand before they went their separate ways.

"What about me?" Ben asked, slightly bewildered that Weaver hadn't said anything to him. "What am I supposed to do?" His last words were once again cut off by a large burst of gunfire, this time disturbingly close to their current location.

"Follow me!" General Bressler shouted above the retaliating Mech fire. A huge explosion rocked New Charleston as they ran. It almost threw them off their feet, and as it was Ben had to steady himself against the wall briefly before racing off behind the older men.

A few turns and twists later, the group of fighters emerged into a large, open area known as Parking Two. It was the second of four parking structures that had been built for the unfinished mall; this one was situated on the North side of New Charleston, the polar opposite of the main entrancethe Second Massachusetts had first entered through. That one was known as Parking One. Both P1 and P2 were underground, making the wide, open spaces perfect for undetected target practices and other such , this one wasn't empty any more.

Ben was thrown off his feet as a projectile hit the concrete in front of him. His head smacked painfully against the ground, and he heard several of the others scream or shout in pain and surprise.

Bullets started to shoot through the dust rising from the impact site, and Ben crouched low to avoid being hit by the bullets as he slowly got up.

"Dad!" he called out, desperately trying to find his father through the thick dust. He could barely hear himself talk over the rapid gunfire and loud explosions of Mech fire littering the air around him. "Dad!" he repeated, coughing as dust invaded his lungs.

"Ben!" he heard as he finally managed to make his way over to a pillar and pushed his body up against the cool surface. He inhaled the less dirty air heavily before coughing again as his lungs attempted to expel the ghastly gunk from the dust.

More gunfire shot through the air, but this time it didn't sound as heavy to Ben. It was too light, moved too fast for Mech fire; one of the NC Army fighters must have managed to get in a position to begin fighting back.

Someone slammed up against the pillar next to him. Ben looked over and saw Weaver. He stared at the older man, who had somehow managed to procure an assault rifle from somewhere.

"How many, Ben?" the captain shouted. Ben froze for a second. Weaver was asking him?

"Uhh…" was the only response he could come up with.

"Focus!" Weaver shouted again. "I know you can sense the bastards! _How many_!?"

Ben screwed his eyes shut and focused separating the sounds around him. He could hear screaming coming from his left, the sound of heavy boot on concrete on his right. The young fighter blocked out those sounds and tried to focus on the distinct skittering sounds of the Skitters and the heavy thumps of the Mechs.

A few seconds later he had an answer.

"Six Mechs, twenty-four Skitters."

That wasn't reassuring.

"Shit," was the hissed curse from Weaver. He obviously felt the same. They were outnumbered, out-gunned, and had walked straight into an ambush.

Ben really wished that he had a weapon. His fingers kept flexing out on their own, as if they were eager to have the feeling of pulling the trigger. He reached down to his hip where a gun would normally sit and was shocked to feel something cold under his fingertips. Glancing down, the de-harnessed boy saw the sheath attached to his belt. Inside sat his hunting knife.

How had he forgotten that he had a knife?

Quickly reaching down and unclipping the top of the sheath, Ben lifted out the wicked looking silver hunting knife, the slightly curved blade glinting. Without hesitating, the young fighter threw himself into the fight. He raced forward and out of the safety of cover, hearing Weaver yell at him to get back and ignoring it.

Bullets flew everywhere, from both the Mechs and the NC Army. Ben ducked and dodged as he ran to the line of Skitters advancing on their position. They were moving as one, every leg moving in unison.

Suddenly, one of the Skitters broke formation and surged forward. It ducked behind a pillar and seconds later an ear-shattering scream ripped through the air. Ben looked just in time to see the Skitter rip the head off one of the New Charleston fighters, blood gushing from the open neck cavity. He fought back the urge to vomit.

"BEN!"

Ben turned, his eyes widening as he saw another Skitter almost on him. He'd been distracted by the now-dead soldier, so much so that one of the other Skitters had a chance to sneak up on him. Moving on instinct, he threw his arms up, one hand balled into a fist and the other gripping the knife tightly.

Just as the Skitter lunged, his hand holding the knife swept down and slashed at the creature. It screeched in pain, dark blood beginning to pour from the deep cut. Using the alien's hesitation to his advantage, Ben readjusted his position by crouching low before quickly springing upwards. He thrust his right hand forward and the hunting knife pierced the Skitters mouth and lodged itself in its brain.

He yanked the knife out, grimacing at the explosion of blood that ended up spraying all over him. The Skitter dropped to the floor, dead. Ben let himself take a few deep breaths and get himself under control before wiping the blade on his pants and turning back to the approaching Skitters.

One down, twenty-three to go.

Someone came to stand beside him. Glancing over, he saw that it was his dad. He was also holding a knife, having not had a rifle in the meeting room when the Skitters invaded the city. Bressler, Weaver and Manchester joined them, all except Manchester armed with severe looking weaponry.

Gunfire still ricocheted through the parking structure, slamming into pillars, walls and bodies alike. Ben heard another scream as a soldier was caught in the stomach by a heavy-duty Mech bullet. They were dropping like flies and so far, only one – maybe two – Skitters had been killed. The Mechs were still blowing the place to bits and Ben was seriously worried they were going to take out the pillars and the roof would collapse on top of them.

It seemed like Bressler had the same idea.

"Don't worry about killing all the bastards!" he screamed over the explosions. "We've just got to make a path out of here!"

"Over there!" Weaver added as he engaged with a Skitter, his weapon firing off several bullets that tore through the creature's body like it was made of butter. Ben launched himself at another Skitter, quickly dispatching it with a stab and twist of his knife in its mouth. Beside him, his dad and Bressler continued to attack the advancing Skitters.

They knew where they were going; they just had to get through the wall of Skitters and Mechs blocking their way. There was a small doorway far off to the right. It was partially blocked by some rubble, but it looked like it was their only way out.

Another Mech blast and suddenly one of the pillars in front of them was dust. It crumbled to the ground in a mess of debris and dust, causing several of the fighters to cough as the dust invaded their lungs. Ben saw a few Skitters lunge in that direction and it was only moments later that the gunfire stopped and the screams started, only to be cut short a few seconds later.

And then there was an opening.

It was like a path just appeared between the Skitters and Mechs, straight to the little abandoned doorway on the other side of the parking lot. Ben saw it and took off, racing in between a Mech and Skitter, causing the Mech to turn quickly and fire off a round. It missed him and instead blew the Skitter to smithereens.

Skitter bits flew everywhere and Ben was certain he saw the head – still intact – roll away like a bowling ball.

Due to his harness-enhanced hearing, Ben could hear boots hitting the ground over the explosions and gunfire. The others were following him.

Ben screamed.

He gripped his upper left arm, dropping the knife as he did so. A Skitter stood in front of him, arm extended out, blood dripping from its claws. It had blindsided him and swiped across his arm, gouging several deep wounds into his flesh which immediately started to gush with dark red blood.

A few bursts of gunfire from behind him and the Skitter dropped, half its head missing. Ignoring the worried calls from his father, Ben took off again, the path now clear. He kept a tight grip on his arm as he ran, trying his hardest to ignore the blood slipping over his fingers in rivulets.

Another explosion rocked the parking structure and this time Ben knew – he knew that too many pillars had been taken out. Throwing a quick glance behind him confirmed his thoughts as he saw a large part of the ceiling start to crumble and fall, burying several New Charleston fighters, Skitters and Mechs.

"Ben!" his dad shouted. Ben broke out of a trance he didn't even know he'd entered. They were on the other side of the door. How the hell had they got there?

It was then that his legs gave way. His knees buckled and he slid down the wall and hit the ground hard. Blinking sluggishly, Ben looked at the wound on his upper arm. It was ugly.

Three large lacerations ran from the edge of his shoulder down to his elbow. Shredded skin hung in strips, peeking through the slashes in his shirt. Blood poured from the wounds, soaking his dark shirt and staining his hand red.

"Dad…" he moaned, opting to look away from his arm. Looking at it was making him feel sick.

"It's okay, Ben," Tom reassured. "You did good, son. We'll get you out of here and get that looked at. You'll be fine."

He was feeling kind of faint now. Was it blood loss? Shock? It _was _bleeding quite heavily. Just as he started to slip away, he heard the ominous sound of the low mechanical moan of a Mech.

* * *

Tom froze as he heard the sound of the Mech. He looked back to his now-unconscious son and made a decision. Even though they were out of the parking lot, they weren't out of danger yet. They were still mainly weapon-less and what weapons they did have, the bullets wouldn't last forever.

"We've gotta get out of here," he said. "Do you know where we are?" He aimed the last part towards Bressler and Manchester. Bressler nodded.

"We're in what we called the North Quadrant. If we continue down this hall, we should hit a stairwell. Go down one level and we'll be at the Mess Hall. We can get out from there."

The ex-professor looked towards Weaver. The captain nodded, signalling that he trusted Bressler's intel. Tom sighed. "Okay. Hopefully Hal and the others will have gathered everyone and haven't run into any problems."

He bent down and placed one arm under his son's neck and the other under his knees. Careful of the metal spikes protruding from his spine, Tom lifted Ben. Ben's head lolled sideways, his chin coming to rest on his collarbone. His arms hung limply downwards, the left dripping blood in a steady stream to the floor.

"Can you move his arm?" he asked Weaver. Dan moved over and placed Ben's injured arm across his chest, ripping a strip of fabric off and making a temporary sling so that the arm didn't slide around.

Once he had Ben secured, they quietly made their way down the long corridor.

It took almost half an hour before Tom knew where they were. Still carrying Ben, Tom found himself tiring quicker than the others and they'd had to take a few breaks. He refused for anyone else to carry his son. Especially Bressler; not that the man had offered at all.

Tom froze as he heard the sound of a door creaking open. Weaver motioned for everyone to be quiet. The door opened fully and a head poked out from behind it. As soon as Tom saw the face, he relaxed and moved forward out of the shadows.

"Dad!"

It was Hal. He was battered and bloody, but was in one piece.

"Hal… Everyone okay? Are Matt and Anne okay?" He had been worried about youngest son and his… _girlfriend? Mother of his unborn child? _He wasn't sure what to call her yet.

"Matt and Anne are fine. Matt's scared, but holding it together. We've gotta get out of here. There are Skitters and Mechs everywhere. They've overrun the West and East Quadrants, and it's only time before they reach here. For some reason, they came in the back doors and have left the main one unguarded. Where's…?" Hal stopped talking, his voice fading as he caught sight of his unconscious brother."Ben!"

"He was attacked by a Skitter. I'll get Anne to treat him as soon as we're safe."

Hal nodded. "Okay. Everyone's in the Mess Hall."

They followed Hal into the Mess Hall, where, indeed, everyone was waiting. A loud cheer went up as soon as the members of the Second Mass saw Tom and Weaver, although there were a few shocked gasps at the sight of the unconscious Ben.

Looking around, Tom saw Anne, Lourdes and Matt sitting together. They had all looked up at the commotion and as soon as Anne saw Ben, her hand went to her mouth as she stood up. Matt followed suit, his eyes widening as he caught sight of his brother.

"Ben!"

"Go," Weaver nodded when Tom looked to him for guidance. "Bressler, Manchester and I will sort out the evacuation procedures. You tend to your family. But if you see Jean, send her my way, will you?"

"Sure. Thanks." Normally there would be no way he would leave his duties as second-in-command of the Second Massachusetts, especially in a situation as dire as the one they were in. However, this time Weaver had Bressler and Manchester to help him out.

"Alright people, listen up!" Bressler called out as Tom reached Anne and Matt. "We will be dividing into groups of thirty! Each group will consist of five fighters and twenty-five civilians. You will exit the city through the main tunnel, before rendezvousing at the approved location."

"I won't be able to check him over properly until we get out of here," Anne said as she took Ben's pulse and peered at the wound on his arm. Because of the severity of his son's injures, they were going to be in one of the first groups leaving New Charleston. That way Anne could treat him as soon as possible.

"Is he going to be okay, Dad?"

Tom looked at his nine-year-old son, complete with dimpled smile and golden curls. "He's gonna be just fine, Matt. Your brother's a fighter."

"Moving out!" came the call from Weaver. Tom shifted Ben's inert form, wincing as one of the spikes at the base of his neck caught on the skin on his wrist. It turned out that they were in the very first group to exit the now-discovered New Charleston. Any ideas the New Government had had about creating a new capital of the United States had just been obliterated with the discovery of their hidden city.

Strangely, they managed to get everyone out and to the safe point without encountering any enemy Mechs, Skitters or Overlords. That didn't sit right with Tom. In the fire fight, they had lost many soldiers and civilians. Most of them had been from New Charleston or the NC Army.

They'd even managed to get the majority of the vehicles and weaponry out as well, which was no easy task, considering the amount of fire-power and large trucks they had. It had been hours since any sign of the invading force had been seen. It seemed that after the initial attack, they'd completely vanished, which made Tom very uneasy. They wouldn't have backed off without a reason and Tom knew the collapse in P2 wouldn't have killed all of them in that section. So where the hell were they?

Now, they all stood on the bridge that had once connected with the Original Charleston. There had been a few incidents with getting everyone out, but it was mainly trips and tumbles as the civilians panicked. Anne had immediately returned to the Second Mass' med bus with Ben and was now examining the wound on his arm. Worryingly, the teenage boy still hadn't woken up. It was now that the Second Mass had to make a decision - New Charleston had been compromised; it wasn't safe any more, so the government and military were going to attempt to relocate. Where that would be, Tom didn't know. So they had to decide; stay with the NC population and find a new, better hidden, place to live; or break off, get back on the road and continue doing what they did best - killing Skitters.

Tom knew that Weaver was heavily favoured in leaving. As much as he had enjoyed the luxuries of living in NC, he missed it just being their little group. Sure it was infinitely more dangerous, but he honestly didn't think he could sit around and wait for answers. He wanted answers about this new group of aliens. Why had that one arrived and after attacking Ben, just left? Why were they here? What issues did they have with the Overlords? Were they allies or enemies? And Tom agreed.

The Skitter rebellion was gone, so the one source of good intel they had was vanquished. Ben had elected to stay, and Tom didn't want his son subjected to the prejudice that would come with staying with the NC population. It was better for everyone if they left.

Tom looked over to Charleston's destroyed skyline, reminiscing at what could have been. He gasped as he watched in horror as a huge explosion ripped through the area where the New Charleston Underground City had been situated. In a domino effect, several other buildings around it started to collapse inwards, the underground supports having been severely damaged in the initial explosion. The ground shook with the force of it, sending shock waves through the large group gathered on the bridge.

"Oh my god…" someone whispered behind him.

They watched as New Charleston fell.

Everything they'd done to get to the fabled city was now rendered obsolete. The thought of having a city, a home base, was now gone.

He'd seen enough. Explosions were still tearing through the already destroyed city. Building upon building were collapsing as their supports were shattered. If it carried on the way it was going, all that would be left afterwards would be a giant crater of debris.

Tom turned away from the destruction.

… and came face to face with a red-skinned alien

* * *

Heheh... don't kill me? You'll actually come to find that I LOVE cliffhangers if you continue reading this story. I tend to use them a lot. Make's it a little more exciting. Please review and let me know what you think of how I'm taking the story!


	6. Survival Tactics

Sorry for the extremely long wait! Work has really taken it out of me. Work for four hours equals travelling for two or three hours, so an essentially short day becomes a rather long one. On another more exciting note – I finally ordered my copy of Falling Skies season 1 from America! Even though it's out in Aussie, I ended up buying it when I ordered Season 7 of Supernatural. It was actually cheaper doing it that way… Figures lol

Secondly, thanks for all the amazing reviews! I really love hearing from you all and I'm over the moon that this has been as popular as it has. *HUGS*

Has now been beta-d! Huge thanks to **Emotional Dalek!**

**IMPORTANT: This is an information heavy chapter. It is more of a transition chapter and because of that it's not very long :( But I hope you like where I've decided to take the plot. **

* * *

**TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?_

* * *

-FALLING SKIES SEASON 3-

Chapter 5 – Survival Tactics

Karen stood in the shadows and watched as the survivors of the Second Massachusetts found themselves face to face with the enemy. They were standing on the ruined bridge that had once connected to the towering city of Charleston; a city that was no more. Buildings were still collapsing as her teams accomplished their set tasks. The Second Mass was going to have go back on the road – just where her masters wanted them.

On the road they were more vulnerable; with no home base, no enclosed walls that could be made into a makeshift fortress, they were exposed and much more susceptible to making mistakes. The road was a much more dangerous place to be.

Which made things that much more exciting.

But for now, they were going to have to get through this latest hurdle. With Tom and his crew destroying their weapon, the red-skinned aliens had wasted no time in landing on Earth. It made things a little more complicated. They would get through it, but it was going to take a little to overcome this latest… hurdle.

Her masters had not been pleased. They had voiced their displeasure at her incompetence in letting the weapon be destroyed, along with the death of her direct master. But at least they had succeeded in killing off the head of the rebellion. With the rebellion now in hiding, that was one less thing they had to worry about.

The harnessed girl focused her gaze back on the group of militia fighters on the bridge. None of them were moving. They were staring at the alien before them, somewhat horrified at the turn of events. It was obvious they weren't sure how to proceed.

Accessing her increased hearing abilities, Karen honed in on the group. A wave of static washed through her brain, causing her to clamp her hands over her ears and drop to one knee. She quickly cut the connection, gasping. That damn red-skin was interfering with her. Damn it!

Moving back into a standing position, she decided against trying to listen in and slunk back into the shadows as she felt her masters' begin to speak with her. Karen closed her eyes as their voices invaded her head, filling her mind with pictures and words. They knew the red-skinned aliens. They knew what they were and why they were on Earth… and they wanted her to tell Tom and the Second Mass.

It didn't take long for Karen to get to the bridge. She walked calmly towards the gathered group, hearing the clicking of guns as they were turned in her direction. Ignoring the weapons pointed at her, the blonde girl continued to stride onwards, heading to where Tom, Weaver and the red-skin were standing in a dead-lock.

"Tom Mason," her master spoke through her. "I come bearing no ill will."

Tom's hands fisted at his sides, eyes darting in between herself and the red-skin.

"No ill will?" Tom repeated, his mouth drawn into a frown. "Then what the hell do you want, Karen? Come to tie us all up and threaten our lives again? You know how well that turned out last time."

Karen smirked. Of course, he was still wound up about his son and his girlfriend. She locked gazes with Hal, smirk widening as the parasite imbedded in his brain woke up and acknowledged her presence. She sent it a mental message, telling it to continue to stay hidden. Hal would become very useful, very soon.

"No," she replied. "I come with information – information my masters wish for you to know. They believe it will be very beneficial to our cause." She deliberately looked at the armour-clad alien, her gaze lingering. When she felt they had got what she was trying to convey, she continued.

"You see, my masters know of these knew aliens. I'm sure by now youhave realised the weapon was not meant for you pitiful humans, but for something else entirely and when you destroyed it, you paved the way for this 'something else' to land on your planet."

Karen continued to walk towards them, her eyes still sweeping between the Second Mass and the red-skinned alien. She could see the apprehensive looks the members of the militia group were sending each other. Was she to be trusted or not? Karen smirked. Let the fun begin.

Sending out the command, the harnessed girl waited for a few seconds before the tell-tale noises of the Mechs and Skitters came within hearing range. The red-skin alien finally moved and turned towards her. Its face guard opened to reveal strange scaly skin and weird eyes. It blinked a few times before closing the face guard again and pressed something on it's wrist. A few seconds later a pod-like thing appeared in the sky, landing in a clear patch on the bridge.

Karen and the Second Mass watched as the alien strode over to the pod and entered. Before the hatch closed it spoke.

'_This is not the end. We will meet again.'_

And it was gone. Karen smirked. It was time to put Phase Two into play.

"So…" she started, not in any way phased by the multitude of weapons now facing in her direction. Even when she had started walking towards them, many of the guns were trained on the alien, but now the Second Mass's full arsenal was pointed at her.

"Alright Karen, what the hell do you want?" It was Captain Weaver that spoke this time. Karen dismissed the older man. Her masters didn't care about him. It was the Masons' they were concerned about. Tom was too influential for some unknown reason, and then there was the fact that his son had been harnessed and had been very high up in regards to the rebellion. Her masters were almost positive Ben Mason had been the leader for the harnessed kids in the rebellion. He had led the humans, and Red-Eye (as the humans had named him) had led the Skitters.

"I just want to share some information I think you would like to hear," she smiled, eyes narrowing as she did. "I think you'll find it… most interesting."

"And why would we trust anything you say?" Tom asked, stepping forward.

"You don't. I'm your enemy. But what I say is true. Whether you believe it or not, is up to you."

There was no response and Karen took that as a chance to start. If they really didn't want to hear what she wanted to say, they would have shot her already. It was time to shake things up a little. She frowned as she gazed over the group, noticing that both Anne Glass and Ben Mason were missing. The last thing her little parasite had reported back regarding the middle Mason was that he'd been injured in the attack on New Charleston. The doctor was probably patching him up.

"These new aliens have no known name. They are from a planet a very long distance from this one, but not far from my masters' home planet. They were once a thriving race; intelligent, resourceful – much like the human race.

"But they were power-hungry. They wanted more than what they had, so they went looking on other planets. They found the home planet of my masters' and attempted to take over, using their advanced weaponry and technology."

Karen smirked as the lie left her lips. Of course her masters' didn't want the humans to know the truth. It would be disastrous…

"The war raged on between the red-skinned aliens and my masters for many, many years. The toll was heavy on both sides, but in the end my masters prevailed. Their now-sworn enemy was all but wiped out. Much like what's going to happen with you…" She grinned. Oh how her masters wanted the humans dead – the adults at least. The children they wanted… for other reasons.

"My masters came to this planet for your supplies to build weapons to fight against their enemy. They did not expect resistance of this level."

This part was true. Her masters had indeed come for the resources Earth had to offer. The metals present on the planet were ideal for the weaponry they needed to build to fight against the enemy, and they had known the enemy had been keeping an eye on them for some time, keeping to the shadows. But that was not all they had come for – they had also come for the children and teenagers, much like her host. They were the prefect age for the transition.

They'd come to build an army, as they had done once before.

You see, her masters were worried. They knew the enemy was there to destroy them, not the humans. They knew that the humans would put up a fight though, as the enemy were out to destroy something else as well…

…the harnessed humans.

They'd tried this before, many years ago on a different planet. They had come in waves to destroy her masters and their armies of (in human terms) Skitters and Mechs. Her masters had no such terms penned for their armies. They were known as merely slaves to the cause.

The enemy believed Skitters were an abomination, as much as her masters were. They believed that they should all be destroyed, never to walk on the surface of another planet again. They hated everything about the Skitters.

The enemy wanted to stop the cycle of the harness and to do that, they believed they had to wipe out every living thing associated with the process. Including those that had been harnessed, and that included their own harnessed species.

Because the Skitters that were currently the face of her masters' armies were in fact of the same race as the red-skinned aliens.

And the red-skinned aliens were here to wipe them all out.

But Tom Mason and his group of disjointed soldiers didn't need to know that. Once the red-skinned aliens tried to kill his son again, there would be no stopping Tom. The Second Mass would wage war on the red-skins and hopefully leave her masters alone while they focused on the new 'threat'.

With her masters' new armies fully transitioned and co-operative, they would wage war against the humans and the red-skins. No one would be left, and her masters would rule again.

* * *

**Was it okay? Yes? No? Did you like the back-story I put together for the new aliens? I'm really nervous about this chapter… because of all the information… I know it's kind of a lot to put in one chapter, but there is still plenty more to come. Hal has his own issues coming up and there is something big going to happen with Ben too. Anne/Tom and Matt have their own little plots intertwined in there as well.**

**I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Once again I'm sorry it took so long. Please review! I'd really love to hear what you think of it…**


	7. Harness and a Parasite

So sorry for the long wait. I hit a bit of a block with this. It's still not a very long chapter, but I had to end it where I did… *insert evil laugh* I hope you like this!

I've come to notice that reviews have been dropping for this story. The first chapter received 13 reviews, let the last one only got 5. Has it got boring? Is there something I can do to make it more interesting? I'm not planning on giving up on this fic any time soon, and there are a few that love it to bits (you know who you are hehe), and I'm not complaining about the amount of reviews (as I think this is doing rather well for the FS fandom), but I was just wondering why the stats were dropping.

That aside, thanks so much for all the continued support! A huge thanks goes to my beta **Emotional Dalek** and my very loyal and awesome reviewers – **JoyScott13, DriftingCloudz, BulletsCoffeeFaith, Sanae** and **Sirnonenath.** This is for you!

DISCLAIMER: _Falling Skies_ belongs to TNT, Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg.

* * *

**TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?_

* * *

-FALLING SKIES SEASON 3-

Chapter 6 – Harness and a Parasite

Lourdes looked down at the boy lying on the table before her. Ben Mason was someone who confused the Latina girl. From what she'd heard from Hal and Matt, he'd been a completely different kid before the invasion. When the harness had first been removed, Hal had said he was similar in a way, but that changed pretty quickly – and it wasn't just the enhanced psychical abilities.

Before the invasion, Ben Mason had been a book worm. He'd been the one with the good grades, wasn't much of an athlete and was very against violence. Lourdes had overheard Hal talking to Maggie one day about how much he'd changed; how he now got jittery if he was sitting down and doing nothing and threw himself into every fight he could get into.

After Jimmy's death, Hal had said that he was afraid for Ben, and was slightly afraid _of_ him. In the words of Hal, his younger brother was reckless, violent and didn't seem to have any regard for his own life. He shut himself off from everyone and was keeping secrets too.

Lourdes disagreed with the oldest Mason. She'd seen the way Ben had been cut up after Jimmy's death. She'd seen the looks other had sent the sandy-haired boy when he wasn't looking (and when he was). Ben blamed himself for the death of his only non-family friend, and everyone else blamed him too.

To be honest with herself, Lourdes had blamed him at first too, until the details of what exactly happened came to light. It wasn't Ben's fault – yes it had been a stupid idea to hunt the Skitters in the first place, but it hadn't been just Ben's idea. It was just that Ben was the only one left to take the blame.

The ex-med student wiped away some of the blood that poured from the large gashes on Ben's arm as Anne shuffled around the med bus, gathering supplies so that she would be able to close the horrendous wounds.

She frowned as she rinsed the cloth.

"Anne?" Lourdes called out, ripping off one of the gloves and placing her naked hand on Ben's forehead.

"What is it Lourdes?" Anne answered as she made her way over, several small boxes of supplies in her arms.

"He feels hot. I think he might be developing a fever." It was strange. The wound wasn't old enough for an infection to have taken hold. She'd been keeping a close eye on the gashes and there was no inflammation around them; no redness to the skin either.

"What?" Anne placed the boxes of stitching thread, antiseptic and needles onto the nearest counter and pushed past Lourdes.

Lourdes removed her hand from Ben's forehead as Anne placed her own on his heated skin. "You're right," she exclaimed, "but why?"

Anne pulled on a clean pair of gloves and probed the gashes, double checking for any sign of early infection. Ben moaned and shifted on the bed, his breathing speeding up ever-so-slightly. There was a pink flush to his cheeks and sweat was starting to bead on his forehead.

Lourdes looked up at her mentor as Anne quickly grabbed the stethoscope from around her neck and after pulling up Ben's bloody and tattered shirt, placed the end on his chest and listened. "His heart rate's elevated. From what I can see, there's no infection in the wound. Something else must be causing the fever."

"Something else?" Lourdes questioned. "Has he got any other injuries we're not aware of?"

Anne opened her mouth and was about to answer when her face paled. A hand shot up to cover her mouth. Lourdes' eyes widened as Anne raced to a nearby empty bucket and vomited into it.

Morning sickness.

As much as the young girl knew the constant vomiting was frustrating for her mentor, she couldn't help but smile. God had given Anne a gift in this war torn world – had given her the gift of a new life which would help ease the pain of the loss of her previous family. Lourdes was so happy for Anne.

"Ugh…" Anne moaned as she straightened, wiping a cloth over her mouth. "I definitely didn't miss that."

Turning back to Ben, Lourdes watched as the distressed boy shifted again on the bed. He was sweating more profusely than before, his cheeks a little more flushed. The gashes on his arm had mostly stopped bleeding; only a sluggish trail of the liquid escaped the wounds.

"Anne, the fever's getting worse."

Anne sighed, pinching her forehead as she thought. "Alright. First things first, we have to close those wounds. Lourdes, can I get you to wash them out with antiseptic again? I'll prepare the needles so that I can start stitching. After you've done that, I'll get you to wet a cloth and try and bring that fever down."

Lourdes nodded, accepting the bottle of antiseptic. She gently poured the liquid over the three slashes on Ben's upper arm, wincing as the boy tried to jerk away from the burning pain. Reacting swiftly, Lourdes reached over and wrapped an arm around his waist as he started to roll off the bed.

"Anne!"

She managed to stop him in time and started to roll him back onto his back. He gasped in unconsciousness as she did so and it was then that Lourdes noticed the blood splattered across the white sheets that covered the thin mattress of the stretcher.

Anne rushed over as the Latina gently eased Ben down, frowning as she saw that Ben's face was twisted in pain.

"What happened?"

"I was cleaning out the cuts when he jerked away and almost rolled off the bed…"

"What else? Lourdes?"

Lourdes looked up at Anne, seeing the concern flashing through the older woman's eyes. "When I was easing him back onto the bed properly, I saw blood splattered across the sheets."

"Blood? From his arm?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I didn't get a good look, but I think it came from his back…"

Anne gasped. "The harness…"

"We still need to stitch those cuts," Anne added, "and then we'll take a look at his back." She looked out one of the wire-covered windows.

"Where's Tom? I thought he'd be in here wondering how Ben was doing."

As soon as they'd escaped New Charleston, Anne had brought Ben straight to the med bus. She hadn't seen Tom or any others since then. It was a little disconcerting.

"I don't know," was the response from the older woman as she bent over Ben's shredded upper arm, preparing to push the needle through the skin.

As Anne stitched the last of the wounds shut, Lourdes continued to wipe Ben's face with a damp cloth. The fever wasn't getting any better, but it wasn't getting any worse, which Lourdes was extremely thankful for.

They worked in silence and the young Latina couldn't help but notice the eerie silence coming from outside. There was no one anywhere near the med bus, so there were no voices breaking the stillness, apart from the odd chirp of a bird.

Where was everyone?

"Done," Anne announced. Lourdes looked at the neatly stitched wounds, pleased to see that no blood was escaping. Lourdes passed her mentor a large piece of gauze and taped it over the wounds as Anne held it in place. Ben moaned a little as they put pressure on his upper arm.

"Alright, let's check out his back."

Anne was nervous. Her voice was shaky, and her eyes were narrowed. Lourdes was a little nervous too. With Ben, there was so much they didn't know about his physiology. They had no idea what the harness was doing to him inside, and Anne had mentioned earlier that it had been quite some time since Ben had let her look at his back.

They rolled him over, careful of his bandaged arm.

Lourdes gasped and her hands flying up to cover her mouth in horror. Ben's back…

"Oh my god…" Anne murmured as she took in the sight of the young teen's back.

Ben's back – or more specifically the spikes in his back – was a mess. The skin surrounding the metal rods was still hard and crusty, but it had started to crack. Blood coated the cracks, slipping in between and coating the normal skin red.

The area of skin that wasn't hardened was inflamed and red. The rods themselves were almost hot to the touch and more blood seeped out from the holes where they pushed through the skin.

Lourdes watched in shock as Anne reached out and touched a part of the hard skin surrounding the spikes. The skin was cracked and as Anne touched it, it shifted. Lourdes gasped again as the skin came loose and fell to the side. Blood pooled in the area where it had been.

But it was what was underneath the old piece of skin that held their attention.

The skin was normal.

It was human skin.

"What…?" Lourdes whispered, locking eyes with Anne. What was going on? From her experience, it looked like Ben's back was one giant scab… complete with healing and newly grown skin underneath.

Anne pushed Ben's growing hair out of the way and peered at the spikes protruding from the base of his neck. She touched one of them and was shocked to feel the spike shift under her touch. It felt like… like it was coming loose?

Lourdes tried to figure out was going on as she watched Anne examine Ben. The Skitter-y skin on his back was cracking and coming off – to reveal normal human flesh underneath; the spikes sticking through the skin were bleeding and weren't as…

Ben screamed in pain and his body bucked on the stretcher.

"Oh my god!"

The Latina girl was broken out of her thoughts at Anne's scream. Anne was looking down at her hand in complete horror, staring at something gripped between two fingers.

Lourdes placed a hand on Ben's head to try and calm the boy down. He was trembling, hands clenched into fists even in unconsciousness. She quickly checked the bandage on his arm and was pleased to see that no blood had seeped through.

It was only then that she looked over to see what Anne was holding in her hand. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as she finally saw what it was.

She let her gaze travel back and forth between Anne's hand and the spikes on Ben's back several times, but it did nothing to ease the confusion racing through her.

In Anne's hand sat a small cylindrical like object. The top end was silver in colour with burnt edges. Towards the bottom of the object, it started to darken in colour until it was completely black. The object split at the bottom, several tendrils falling limp like roots of a tree. They were also black in colour, but the dark red of blood also coated the roots.

It was part of the harness.

Anne had accidently pulled it out when she was examining it. There was now a corresponding hole in the base of Ben's neck where the spike used to reside. Blood flowed from the hole in a surprisingly small amount.

Lourdes locked eyes with Anne as they both looked from Ben's back to the spike in her hand.

Was the harness dying?

Lourdes went to ask Anne what she thought was going on, but never got the chance to. A loud explosion of gunfire erupted from somewhere outside, followed by yelling and screaming.

* * *

_'He stared at his mistress, feeling the thoughts and emotions that she was filtering to him. She was pleased with him. He'd reported back to her where the Second Mass had holed up and had given her the information on how to get in to the underground city, the weak points and of course, the status of many of the soldiers.'_

_'He would continue to pass on information to his mistress for as long as he was in control of this body. He smirked, thinking of all the ways he would be able to destroy Tom Mason and his merry band of soldiers. Eventually, they would realise there was a traitor in their midst, but there would be no way Tom Mason would ever think it would be his own son betraying them.'_

_'Gripping the weapon tight, he grinned evilly.'_

Hal stared at his ex-girlfriend standing in front of them, a pleased smirk on her face. Was what she'd just said true? Were the Overlords and Skitters only here for the resources? To build weapons to kill the new aliens? Then why harness the kids?

Something wasn't right.

"Dad…" Hal whispered to his father, who was glaring intently at Karen.

"Oh for god's sake! You're a two-faced little bitch, so why the hell should we listen to you, huh? You've probably got half the Fish-Head's armies lined up waiting in the wings to destroy us once you've got our attention, right? So why should we listen to you!?"

Hal looked over to Pope, who had stepped forward and was pointing his Colt Python handgun at Karen.

Everyone froze.

"Pope!" Weaver hissed. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Stand down!"

The ex-con looked back over his shoulder. "No can do, Cap-i-tan. Nothing good will come out of listening to this bitch, so I'll just do what all of you are too chicken to do."

Pope took a few steps forward again, brining himself closer to Karen. Hal watched as he pulled the hammer back, readying the gun for use. Would he do it? Would Pope really kill Karen? Everyone held their breath, also having brought their guns into the firing position, just in case. Hal held his in front of him, finger lightly pressing against the trigger. The safety was on, for now.

_'No! He stepped forward as well, ignoring the shouts from Tom and Weaver. He wasn't about to let his mistress be killed by some degenerate vigilante with a bad attitude and ego problem. He would let himself be killed before he let that happen.'_

"Hal!"

Pope fired.

A pain-filled scream echoed in the air.

Tom yelled in horror.

The rest of the Second Mass opened fire...

* * *

Heh… don't kill me? So Ben's having issues with the harness, and Hal… no recap needed ;)

I'm already working on the next chapter, so hopefully it won't take as long to get the next one up. I love cliffhangers :P

Please review!


	8. How It Used To Be

DISCLAIMER: _Falling Skies _belongs to TNT, Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg.

Wow! I am so honoured to have you all as readers. This story has received over 60 reviews and 3,000 hits! I'm happy that everyone is still enjoying this tale I'm telling. I enjoy writing it. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up, but I actually ended up rewriting it several times… It's a bit longer though :) Once again, sorry about the wait! Here is the long-awaited chapter… I hope you all like it!

Huge thanks go to my beta **Emotional Dalek. **This hasn't been beta'd yet, but I will upload the beta'd version as soon as she's worked her magic :)

* * *

**TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_Takes place immediately after the conclusion of Season 2. Hal's a sleeper agent, Anne's pregnant and the Second Mass just witnessed a new wave of aliens descend upon the planet. What do they want? And more importantly, whose side are they on?_

* * *

-FALLING SKIES SEASON 3-

Chapter 7 – How it Used to Be

…**LAST TIME…**

"_Hal!"_

_Pope fired._

_A pain-filled scream echoed in the air._

_Tom yelled in horror._

_The rest of the Second Mass opened fire…_

…**NOW…**

As he stepped forward, Hal saw Pope pull the trigger on his gun, sending the fatal bullet flying towards him. Everything slowed. He could see the path the bullet would take, and who it would end up hitting. If he continued moving forward at the rate he was going, that target would be him.

'_His Mistress would be safe.'_

"No…" Hal moaned, a severe ache starting to pound in his head. That alone was what saved his life. That moment of pain caused him to falter in his steps and the bullet flew past him before slamming into Karen with great force.

And that was when the pain really started. The severe ache turned into a roaring fire burning through his brain, sending agony racing through his nerves in the rest of his body.

He was able to remain standing just long enough to see Karen fall, scarlet blooming over a spot on her abdomen. She screamed in pain, hands reaching to clutch at the rapidly growing stain. Hal screamed in unison.

'_I'm sorry Mistress…'_

Hal fell to his knees, hands reaching up and gripping his head tight. He could hear people yelling in the background, but their voices were muffled and distorted, as if they were somehow underwater. He dug his fingers into his head, trying anything, _everything_ to get rid of the pain.

Gunfire started.

The loud sounds of guns firing rapidly did nothing to help. He fell forward, even his knees unable to hold his tormented body upright. His hands started to shake, followed by his arms and then his legs. His whole body was twitching, as if someone had run an electric current through him.

"Hal…"

Someone was close. He felt a hand being gently placed on his arm, and couldn't help the scream that was let loose at the contact. His body felt like it was on fire. Gasping, the eldest Mason flinched away from the touch. He curled into a ball, trying to stop the trembling that had taken over his limbs.

Time passed.

He didn't know how much. It could have been minutes, hours or even days. All he knew was the pain. Eventually, Hal found himself fighting against the impending darkness. It came from nowhere, sneaking up on him like a thief in the night. It slowly took over his senses; the trembling in his limbs faded into numbness, the distorted sounds of the world disappeared into silence and his vision, which was blurry at best, was replaced by a void of black.

The last thing to be swallowed by the darkness was the pain. It didn't fade slowly like everything else, instead one minute it was there and the next there was nothing.

* * *

When he woke, Hal found himself very uncomfortable. His body ached fiercely and his head still pounded.

What had happened?

He moaned lowly, shifting on whatever it was he was lying on. He felt the rough feeling of sheets against flesh and wondered why he was in a bed. Slowly, Hal attempted to open his eyes. It took some time, but he was able to pry them open enough to take a very blurry look around. He blinked, trying to clear some of the haze and was relieved when it worked somewhat.

The med bus – he was in the Second Mass's medical bus.

A small cough erupted from deep within his chest. He winced as his throat burned with the force.

Twisting his head around, Hal peered at his surroundings. He couldn't see any light filtering in from outside, so he knew it was sometime during the night. A battery powered lantern had been left on one of the benches, casting an eerie blue light over the interior of the bus.

It wasn't until Hal turned his head all the way to the right that he saw that he wasn't the only one currently sleeping in the med bus. There was another young teen lying on a stretcher across from him, curled up on his side. Even from this distance, Hal could see the kid was in rough shape.

The kid obviously had a fever, if the flushed skin and increased rate of shallow breathing was anything to go by. His sandy blonde hair was matted to his forehead with sweat. He was covered by a thin sheet, but his chest and arms were bare, and Hal could see heavy bandaging covering the uppermost part of his left arm.

He took a good look at the kid's face.

"…Ben?"

His voice was raspy and hurt as his vocal cords were stretched. He coughed painfully, one hand weakly going to rub his throat. He tried again.

"Ben?"

There was still no response from his brother.

Suddenly Hal heard footsteps approaching the bus. There were voices accompanying them and before he knew it, the door to the bus had been flung open quietly and two people entered. They both rushed over when they saw him looking.

"Hal!"

It was his dad and Dr. Glass.

"Dad…" Hal whispered, a smile weakly slipping onto his features.

Before he knew it, his dad was leaning down and pulling him into a tight embrace. Hal was shocked at first, but eventually he leant in and returned the gesture.

"Oh god… I was so worried. Thank god you're alright." The strain in his dad's voice was unmistakable.

"What… what happened?" Hal murmured against his father's collar. The last thing he recalled was standing on the bridge when Karen had arrived. Everything after that was a blur – a haze of distorted shapes, sounds and pain. The pain he remembered.

His father released him, letting Hal fall back onto the bed with a wince.

"Don't you remember?" he asked gently.

Hal shook his head. "I… I remember Karen arriving. But that's it…" he admitted.

Tom ran a hand through his unruly hair. "I don't know how to say this Hal… but Karen's dead."

The eldest Mason boy looked up sharply at his dad's words. What? Karen was dead? "How?"

"Pope shot her. She showed up and told us a bunch of things about these new aliens. We don't know if she was telling the truth or not. Anyway, Pope – being Pope – got sick of it and threatened to shoot her, saying that she most likely had some Skitters and Mechs stashed away to attack us as soon as she gave the order."

"Did she?"

"Yes," Tom nodded. "Pope shot her. Skitters attacked us as soon as she went down, but we managed to hold them off until we were able to escape. That was two days ago."

There was something his dad wasn't telling him. He could see it in his eyes.

"Two days? But how did I end up unconscious for two days?"

Tom sighed, a hand rubbing over his face. He locked gazes with his son. "I don't know exactly what happened, but for some reason you almost stood in Pope's line of fire. It looked like you were protecting her."

"What?" Hal whispered, shocked. "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know," Tom said, shaking his head slowly. "But when Karen fell, something happened to you. You screamed and grabbed at your head before falling as well and have been unconscious ever since. You've had us all pretty worried, Hal."

Hal didn't know what to say. It seemed that something weird was going on, but he had no idea what. Why the hell would he try and protect Karen? Yes, she'd once been his girlfriend and for a long time he'd hoped that she would come back to the Second Mass. But after she'd attempted to manipulate Ben and had been the cause of Dai's death, Hal had given up all hope for her.

She wasn't Karen anymore; just a minion for the Overlords to do their bidding.

"I…" Hal started. "I don't understand…" Everything was so blurry. He didn't remember stepping into Pope's line of fire and he honestly didn't know why he would. The countless unanswered questions were driving him insane.

He didn't even notice that he was starting to hyperventilate until his dad pulled him into a hug again, his arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Hey, hey… Take it easy. You're okay. Everything's okay."

Hal couldn't help the sob that escaped. He was so confused. There were so many things he didn't remember, yet other things were floating through his mind – things he was sure he didn't do. It was all coming at a rapid pace and there seemed to be nothing he could do to stop it.

Burying his head into his dad's shoulder, Hal heaved in a few deep breaths in an attempt to get himself under control. It was then that he once again caught sight of his unconscious brother over his father's shoulder.

His eyes widened and he started to pull back, looking at his father.

"Dad? What's wrong with Ben?"

Tom didn't answer straight away, sending a shot of fear through Hal. Was it that bad? Was he… _dying_?

"Dad?"

Hal watched as Tom stood and slowly walked over to where Ben was lying. His skin was still flushed, sweat beading on his forehead and making the sandy strands of hair stick to his skin. His lips were parted slightly and his breathing was shallow and irregular. But it was the lines of pain etched into his younger brother's face that held Hal's attention. Ben was in pain; and a lot of it.

"We're not sure what's happening with your brother…" was the eventual response. "He's been like this for two days, since he was injured in the attack on NC." Tom was staring at Ben, a faraway look in his eyes, as if he was seeing something other than what was in front of him.

"It's the harness."

Hal's head shot up, shocked. He stared at Anne, horror filling his eyes. The harness? He swivelled his gaze back to Ben.

"The harness?" he whispered, not taking his eyes off his younger brother. "What's happening with the harness?"

"I'm not one hundred per cent certain, but from what I've seen, it looks like either his body is rejecting the harness… or it's dying."

"What?" Hal breathed, before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing on shaky legs. Anne reached out and steadied him as he swayed. Hal nodded in thanks before stumbling over to Ben.

He reached out and placed a hand on his brother's head, wincing at the heat emanating from his body.

"Can I see?" he asked Anne and his father.

There was no reply. Instead Anne moved around to the other side of the stretcher and pulled the sheet down a little. Hal swallowed when he saw the flecks of fresh and dried blood splattered on the white material.

Hal leant over and peered at his brothers back. He couldn't hold back the gasp when he finally caught sight of the skin and metal spikes protruding through. His hand flew up to cover his mouth before shooting an incredulous look to his father.

Ben's back, for lack of better words, was a mess.

As Anne explained what had happened in the past few days, when she'd first discovered the issues with the harness remains, Hal continued to look over his brother.

The spikes were slowly turning black. The tips were still the murky grey/silver colour they had always been, but Hal could see black creeping up past where they pierced through the skin. Small amounts of blood leaked from around the rods, welling up in the gaps between the rod and skin.

The skin that had begun to harden and change colour due to the harnessing process was cracking and bleeding. Anne explained that beneath the dying skin was fresh _human _skin. What caught Hal's attention the most was the small holes in the base of Ben's neck, where spikes _used_ to be.

"What?" he pointed to the holes. "What the hell happened?"

Anne sighed before tentatively reaching out and touching one of the empty holes. "When I first discovered what was happening with the harness, I was feeling the spikes, as I'd noticed they had a lot more freedom of movement than before. I was looking at one of the ones at the base of his neck, when it came free." She moved over to one of the benches and pulled out a specimen jar.

Inside was a cylindrical object, Hal noted. It was silver in colour at one end and black at the other. The black end split into several root like tendrils.

"Is that…" he murmured. "Is that one of the _spikes?_"

Anne nodded. "That was the first one to come out. Since then, two more have come free. I would like to think that this is a good thing, but unfortunately it seems as though it is doing more harm than good. The harness was – _is_ – attached directly to Ben's spine. We have no way of knowing what it's done to his nervous system or what's going to happen to it now that the harness seems to be dying."

Ben moaned and shifted on the bed, his eyes screwing up tighter as he trembled in pain. Hal ran his fingers through his brother's short hair, trying to calm the boy. Ben stilled under his touch, letting out a shuddering breath before falling limp again. God… couldn't Ben ever catch a break? Couldn't any of them?

* * *

Tom had to look away as Hal calmed his brother. Even though Hal still wasn't one hundred per cent, he was still able to push that all aside and look after his younger sibling. Hal looked terrible, Tom noted. He was pale, with dark shadows under his eyes, betraying the exhaustion his eldest son must have been feeling.

They were still not sure what had happened with him on the bridge, but at this moment, Tom was just relieved to have him awake.

Having two sons out for the count was hard. Tom hadn't left either of their sides in days, only leaving the bus to get some food and attend meetings with Weaver. Matt had joined him in his beside vigil. It had been hard on his youngest son, having both his brothers injured in some way. Both he and Anne had decided not to let Matt know what was going on with the harness though.

Maggie had been a constant visitor too; sitting beside her boyfriend and gripping his hand tight. It wasn't that long ago that they'd been in the same situation – when Karen had kissed Hal and he'd lapsed into an unconscious state.

But Karen was dead now and there was no way she would be able to harm his son again, Tom thought as he watched Hal and Ben.

They'd buried Karen. Many hadn't wanted to give her the honour, but Tom had disagreed. Before being harnessed, she had been a member of the Second Mass – a valued member. She'd been his son's girlfriend and one of the best Scouts the militia group had. Yes, the harness had changed her, but they all knew it wasn't her fault.

So they'd given her a proper burial and service. Not many had shown up, and it hadn't lasted long, but there was now a simple wooden cross pushed into the ground in a nearby grassy patch that read: _Karen Nalder. May you rest in peace._

He was sure that one Hal was able to fully process everything that he'd just learnt; he would mourn the loss of his ex-girlfriend.

"Hey," Tom addressed his on. "Would you be okay to look after Ben for me for a little while? I've got a meeting with Weaver soon and I don't want him left alone."

Hal nodded, not taking his eyes off his brother. "Sure."

"Thanks, Hal." Tom walked past, patting Hal on the shoulder and quickly giving Ben's arm a gentle rub. "Hold on, kiddo. We'll figure out what's going on with you." He whispered the last part to Ben, a weak smile tugging at his lips.

* * *

He was back in the harness facility.

He was strapped to the table, hands tied tight and a strap running across his legs, holding them in place. He was looking down through the hole that had been cut in the wooden structure, staring at the dirty floor that was covered in grease, slime and other stuff he didn't want to know about.

But it was different. Something wasn't right. It wasn't the same dreams he'd had before. This one had been altered.

Ben had lied when he'd told Weaver and the others that he didn't remember much about when he was harnessed. He just didn't remember anything that they wanted to know. When he'd been taken, the distance between the holding room and the harnessing chamber were the last things on his mind.

He remembered the fear; the paralysing fear that had almost crippled him as he awaited his fate. He remembered the sounds; the screams and cries of the other kids that had been captured. He remembered the smell; the scent of blood and decay. And he remembered the pain; the pain of the straps digging into his skin, the pain of when the harness slithered across his back and injected the spikes deep into his spine.

Ben heard a Skitter approach his table and he started to squirm, trying to get out of the restraints, even though he knew it was fruitless. His breathing quickened as a claw landed on his head, caressing his skull before moving down his neck and onto his back.

Trying to fight back the tears, Ben attempted to curl himself up as small as possible – an impossible task as he was tied to the table.

It was as he tried to move that Ben realised there was a heavy weight on his back. Confused, he lifted his head and strained his neck to try and look at what was lying on his back. It didn't help. He wasn't able to see a thing.

He felt the Skitter's hand move further down his body before it hit whatever it was that was pressed against his spine. At that very moment, the familiar tingle that accompanied the activation of the spikes raced through him. The thing on his back shifted, wriggling at the somewhat familiar touch.

The harness was still attached to him. His dad and Anne hadn't removed it…

What was going on?

Ben tensed as the harness creature shifted again, pulling at the spikes that were embedded in his spine. The teenage boy gasped at the sudden pressure. It _hurt_.

"Stop!" he called out as a few tears leaked from his eyes and dropped onto the dirty ground below. Screwing his eyes shut, Ben tried to curl away from the Skitter, but once again was unable to.

And then the pain exploded.

The sound of something tearing reached Ben's ears through the pain and he was vaguely aware of the weight vanishing off his back.

"_It is not yours to keep."_

The Skitter spoke through the tentative mind link still active. Ben took in shuddering, heaving breaths as he tried to work through the agony. It was white hot, racing through every nerve ending in his body. He was shaking, unable to stop the tremors that held his limbs captive.

There was another ripping sound and the pain intensified. Ben cried out as he felt something being ripped from his back. He felt the spikes loosen their hold on his spine and pull free, sliding through the holes in his skin. Hot blood flowed from the newly emptied wounds, the warm liquid quickly coating his back.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

It was suddenly extremely hot. Sweat soaked his body, plastering his hair to his head and dropping into his eyes. Coughing several times, the teenage boy blinked sluggishly as it got harder to breathe easily.

Wheezing, Ben struggled to pull in a deep breath. The ground below started to spin in slow circles, moving faster and faster the longer he looked.

"Help…" he whispered as he closed his eyes against the wave of dizziness that appeared. "Please…"

Then there was nothing.

"Help… Please…"

Hal looked closely at Ben when he heard the murmured, pain-filled words.

"Ben?" he whispered, shaking his shoulder gently, careful of the heavy bandaging on his upper arm. "Ben…?"

A low moan was his answer and Hal found his breathing speeding up as he watched Ben's eyelids flutter. Was he waking up?

After what seemed an eternity, Hal was rewarded with the sight of his brother's green eyes – albeit glazed and extremely out of focus.

Ben was awake.

"Ben!" Hal grinned, leaning closer so that Ben would be able to see him properly.

His younger brother blinked sluggishly and groaned.

"H-Hal?"

The eldest Mason couldn't shake the grin off his face. Placing a hand on his brother's forehead, he was extremely happy to find that his temperature had gone down a little.

"Welcome back bro."

* * *

Well there you have it! A longer chapter for you all this time :) This chapter was going to end differently at first, but I thought it would be cruel to leave you with another evil cliffhanger… hehehe.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and please don't forget to leave a review :) Thanks for all the support!

The next chapter could take a while (sorry!) as I've got a big weekend planned :P Movie World (one of Aussie's theme parks) is having a horror based night, so I'm heading to that Friday and then on Saturday I have a rugby game to go to (NZ vs Australia – go NZ!). But I will try my hardest to get the next one asap!


	9. No Answers, Just More Questions

I'm so sorry for the wait! I kinda wrote myself into a corner with the last chapter…Thanks for being so patient (and for all the amazing reviews!) I do still intend on finishing this thing!

Who else is extremely excited for season three?

One last thing – I _started_ writing this chapter at 1.30 AM so I hope it makes sense lol. And it's kinda short… sorry! TIMESKIP AHEAD

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Chapter 8 - No Answers, Just More Questions...

_A few months later..._

The explosion ripped through the abandoned industrial sector like a fighter jet hitting supersonic speeds. Flames billowed from the originating point, red, hot and deadly. Smaller explosions rippled outwards from the crumbling building, igniting decaying and destructive materials that had been abandoned long before when the aliens had arrived.

The low moans of Mechs followed the initial eruption, the sound and resulting shockwave drawing the machines out of hiding. Their heavy footfalls crushed the rubble beneath them, leaving distinct marks and making it very easy for the hidden team of resistance fighters to follow their tracks.

"Go, go, go!" Came the hushed command from Tom Mason, flicking his hand out to signal the others to start moving. Bracing his weapon against his chest, the father of three (soon to be four) watched as two of his sons and several other fighters emerged from the darkness of the shadows and into the street. They quickly made their way across the debris covered ground before reaching the safety of the other side.

Locking eyes with his eldest son, Tom nodded and held up his hand, which was pulled into a fist. He stole a glance to the left where the Mechs were slowly ambling towards the flames that were reaching higher than anyone thought possible. Taking a deep breath, he raised one finger to symbolize the number '1', before adding a second and then a third finger, counting to three. He then gave the universal 'okay' symbol by sticking his thumb up, while curling his fingers back into a fist.

The operation was a go.

Across the street, Hal nodded as he saw his dad give the go ahead. He glanced at the four others gathered beside him and nodded. "Let's do it people," he whispered.

Immediately the group scattered. Hal stayed where he was, keeping an eye on the five others positioned directly across the street and the Mechs.

Ben scampered over to a ladder and began climbing the unsteady structure to get to the roof where he would be positioned with one of the recently-acquired new sniper rifles.

Pope and another Berserker darted into the street and raced up before hiding in the next street. Their counterparts on the opposite side would be positioned in the same place.

And finally, Maggie, after placing a quick kiss on Hal's cheek, ambled out into the middle of the road, a grenade clutched tight in her palm. She stopped right in the middle and stood there, waiting. When nothing happened, she grinned and pulled the pin of the grenade before hurling it as far as she could towards the Mechs.

The grenade bounced once before exploding in a fiery shower of shrapnel. Immediately the Mechs turned towards the closer sound and started towards it. Maggie dropped the grenade pin and picked up the assault rifle lying slack against her chest. "Let's do this."

Ben lay on his stomach on the roof, the sniper rifle at the ready and pointing towards the zone where he was to shoot the Mechs. His right eye was pressed up against the scope, surveying the area. So far, they hadn't made it to the spot.

As the first Mech made it into the ambush zone, Ben tightened his finger on the trigger, letting his instincts take over. He inhaled deeply, ready to take the shot. Everyone was counting on him to get this first shot right. But as he was about to pull the trigger, a white hot barb of pain lanced its way down his back and he let out a strangled yelp, and his finger reflexively tightened, sending the bullet hurtling towards the Mech prematurely. His left hand immediately reached up to grapple at the remaining spikes in his back as the pain rippled through his body.

"Ben!" The shout came from below, but Ben was too busy trying not to scream to answer. The pain had been a frequent visitor to him since the harness had first started dying (or whatever it was that it was doing…), but it had never been this painful or lasted this long.

And then it was over.

Lying on the rooftop, gasping for breath and his body shaking with the aftereffects of the pain, the sandy-haired teenager could now hear the sounds of the battle raging below him. Gunfire was ricocheting off buildings and the Mechs, his father was yelling commands to those down there fighting and there was the occasional whirr of a Mech powering up its laser guns.

"Ben!"

Then Hal was leaning over him, concern tightening his features. Hal reached over and placed a hand behind Ben's neck, helping him sit up.

"What the hell was that?" he snapped.

The middle of the Mason boys didn't answer as he thought back to when the pains first started…

* * *

Ben slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, wincing as the crusty and healing skin on his back pulled and strained with the movement. It had been three weeks since he'd first emerged from the fever-induced what-ever-it-was that he had been in. He couldn't remember much about that time at all, just fragments. Flashes of faces – Hal, Dad, Matt, Anne… Snippets of voices – Weaver, Hal, Dad… And then there were the pieces of both, stemming from the extremely vivid nightmares that had plagued him over those weeks.

The de-harnessed teen could remember _them_ very clearly. They always started with the harnessing facility and morphed from there and never ending the same way; every time he would wake up, gasping and in agony, having wrenched his back twisting and turning.

In his brief periods of consciousness, Ben would find that someone was always by his side. If it was his father, Tom would sit there and hold his hand, speaking of times before the invasion – the times when they didn't have to fight for their lives every waking moment, times when their mother was still alive.

Hal would also sit there and hold his hand, but would inform him of the goings-on in the Second Mass. All the gossip that was floating round and also kept him up to date of the strategic plans of the militia group. Although, Ben found himself forgetting most of that.

Now, he was still struggling with the harness and the effects. Anne had explained a few days ago that the harness was either dying, or his body was rejecting it. Ben had seen one of the spikes that had come free from his spine, and it was blackened at the roots. To him, it looked like they had been burned.

No one was sure what was going to happen to him if the harness was completely removed from his body. Would he go back to being a normal human, with no special abilities? Was it doing more harm than what it did when he was originally harnessed?

"Ben? What are you _doing_!?"

The sandy-haired teen turned and bit back a wince as the skin on his back pulled again. His eyes locked with his brother's.

"Uh, I'm sitting up?" he remarked, raising his eyebrows at his brother's question. What did it look like he was doing?

"Jeezus, Ben! Lay down. You'll pull or rip something and I'm pretty sure Anne didn't spend all this time trying to get you fixed up just for you to screw it all up again."

Ben sighed heavily before complying and flopped back against the rather hard pillows. He let out a low moan as the spikes in his back came into contact with the mattress. "Owwww…"

Hal rolled his eyes at Ben's antics. "Moron," he said, smirking at the same time as he saw the rather pathetic glare shot his way. "Look, I know you're getting restless Ben, but you've gotta give yourself time to heal. They don't know what the harness is doing to your body-"

"I know, Hal!" Ben interjected, his eyes darkening as he glared at his brother. "But how long do you expect me to stay like this? I've been pretty much confined to this bed for three weeks! I get one hour, maybe two, a day to wander round and keep up my strength, but that's it! There's only a few spikes left in my back and honestly, I feel fine."

It was true. He was feeling better than he had in a long time. Ben was anxious to get out of bed and actually do something again. He wanted to know what exactly he was capable of, more than anything. Did he still have the enhanced abilities that the harness gave him? Or had they disappeared as the spikes slowly rotted from his body? Only time would tell.

"You may feel fine now, Ben, but that's _now_, when you're lying down and resting! We're in unchartered waters here…"

Ben glared. "For crying out loud, Hal. We've been in _'uncharted waters'_ since these bloody aliens first invaded!"

"Hey! What the hell is going on here you two?"

Both Hal and Ben snapped their gazes away from each other at the newcomer's voice.

"Dad…"

Tom Mason stood in the doorway of the med bus, Anne right behind him.

"We can hear you yelling from out here guys… You mind toning it down?" When no one responded, Tom sighed. "What's going on?"

Ben said nothing, instead choosing to shift position against the pillows propped up against his back. It was getting kinda uncomfortable.

"Ben's just getting s little restless that's all," Hal spoke up.

"That true, Ben?"

Ben mumbled a 'yes' in response.

"Give it a few more days, okay? Then we'll talk and see where you're at and where we need to go from here."

Looking up from where he was twisting his fingers together in his lap, Ben met his father's gaze and nodded. But just because he agreed didn't mean he had to like it.

"It's late. Get some rest kiddo." And with that his dad, Hal and Anne left. It was good timing too as just as Hal disappeared through the door, the pain that had been building in his spine burst forth in a white hot blaze and Ben had to bite his lip hard enough to break the skin not to cry out.

* * *

Coming back to his senses, Ben sucked in a shaky breath. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it Hal," he added trying to appear nonchalant.

"What?! That was not _nothing_ Ben! What the hell is going on with you?" Hal lifted his hand from behind his bother's neck and gripped his biceps, shaking him slightly.

"It's nothing!" Ben insisted. "And if you hadn't noticed, we're kinda in the middle of a major screw-up here!" He ripped one of his arms out of Hal's grip and motioned to the continued gunfire and explosions happening below them. "If you won't let this go, I guess we'll have to discuss it later."

With that final statement, Ben stood – on albeit somewhat shaky legs – and grabbed the sniper rifle and moving it to a better position so he could work on taking out some of the damn Mechs causing so much chaos.

He peered into the scope and readied himself, moving the barrel of the rifle to align up with one of the Mechs. He was about to pull the trigger when something caught his eye.

"What the hell?" he whispered as he adjusted the magnification on the lens to get a closer look.

"What?" Hal asked, attempting to peer through the smoke and flames to see what Ben was looking at.

"Here," Ben motioned for Hal to come closer. "Have a look."

Standing back, Ben couldn't believe what he'd seen.

Several harnessed people.

Several harnessed _adults._

They'd always wondered why the aliens had only ever taken children to harness. Many had thought it had something to do with the difference in growth hormones (or something else Ben didn't understand) of children and fully grown adults.

But now…

Why were they harnessing adults? And why were they here, now?

A startling revelation hit Ben like a freight train.

He leaned over the side of the building and screamed.

"Dad! _RUN!"_

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Eeeep. Cliffhanger...

Okay so it's short… but I hope you like it all the same :) I have renewed inspiration of where I'm going to take this now, and yes it will obviously go AU once season 3 starts in a couple of days. This hasn't been beta'd either, so any mistakes are my own.

Please review!


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